President Barack Obama's influence will surely be felt in this year's gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

And it goes beyond his support of Democrats.

Candidates from both parties are emulating his campaign strategies.

They're using technology from texting to Twitter to connect with voters, and ask them for money.

The method makes it easier to carry out another Obama strategy of mounting a real campaign even in places where your party doesn't usually do well.

There is one area where the Democrats have a big advantage. That's tapping into a database of 14 million people who signed up as Obama supporters.