• April 9, 2008

Is election fatigue setting in? Traffic to the top presidential candidates' sites dropped precipitously in March after seeing big spikes in February.

Traffic to Barack Obama's campaign site dropped 33% last month to about 2 million, while HillaryClinton.com had a drop-off of 28% to about 1 million, according to new data from Compete. With the Republican nomination all but wrapped up, traffic to John McCain's site fell even further, plunging 38% to almost 500,000.

By contrast, each of the three candidates' online audiences jumped by at least 54% in February, which featured the Super Tuesday primaries in 24 states. With only six primaries in March and the general election still months away, online supporters may have lost a sense of urgency.

But expect traffic to candidate sites to surge again this summer leading up to the party conventions and keep increasing through the fall until the November election, said Compete analyst Matt Pace.

--Mark Walsh