Patrick Register, a 2010 UNC graduate, is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina’s 12th congressional district. Register is campaigning through a vehicle previously untouched by politicians: Tinder. Staff writer Cate Byrne talked to Register about his experience using the app.
The Daily Tar Heel: Why did you decide to use Tinder as a way to campaign?
Patrick Register: I wanted to have a way to communicate with voters one-on-one. Tinder is useful because you can reach out to all kinds of people and have honest conversations with very little filter. It also allows me the ability to have meaningful conversations at all times of the day, so I don’t have to waste time.
DTH: Do you have a lot of people talk to you about your campaign via Tinder?
PR: Oh yeah, the response has been great. I think I have around 100 matches that have led to real, meaningful conversations between me and possible voters.
DTH: What do people say to you or ask you about on Tinder?
PR: I get a lot of very personal stories. I’ve had a mother tell me about her struggles adopting a child while working out of the country for a non-profit. There’s this whole world of people working abroad who try to come back to America with their adopted children, and then it takes up to a year to get back – that’s something I would’ve never known without hearing a personal story via Tinder. Another story is from a nurse who messaged me. She works a lot and, in a shift, she sees 25-30 patients at one time, and she just said that’s absolutely ridiculous as she should only be seeing 15-20 in a shift to provide adequate care. She shared that there’s just not the funding for other conditions, and there have been several times where she’s had to discharge patients who were unready to go home, and then they passed a few days later. They died because there was no one to pay for them to stay. So that really opened my eyes to issues in health care. And of course, there are more common issues like bike lanes that I hear about. I get the chance to hear about a wide blend of issues, common and unique, from Tinder.
DTH: Have you had any negative experiences using Tinder for the campaign?
PR: I have not actually had any negative experiences. None at all. I have to tell you, you wouldn’t think something could go as perfectly as this has. I think I’ve had one person tell me “This isn’t what Tinder is for, what are you doing,” but like I said, I have over 100 matches of real, back and forth conversations.
