Short on cash, Lerew takes to his Segway

With only a small campaign budget, 7th Congressional District Republican nominee John Lerew has turned to an unconventional campaign vehicle: his Segway.

"The district is so large, and when you're a grassroots campaign and you don't have any money for mailings, the only way I can get around and do lit drops is I use a Segway," Lerew said. "They're good on the sidewalk, and they're easy to run."

Lerew estimated he can cover about 350 homes in two hours using his Segway, which he rents from his financial planning business.

He predicted that the personal vehicles could become a valuable tool for political candidates.

"It may not happen in two years, but probably four years from now, as Segways become more of the society, I would think if you ran a mail-distribution-sized campaign or you did lit drops, you could put your whole crew on Segways and you could cover thousands of homes in one way," Lerew said.

Lerew's campaign spent $2,400 to rent the Segway during the third quarter of 2008 - about an eighth of his campaign's entire expenses for the quarter.