For the study, Pew surveyed 2,010 people during two separate rounds in
late September. As a caveat, that’s a little over a month after the
Obama and Romney campaigns began accepting campaign donations of up to $50 per month via text
message.

But the study had another unique finding. Pew observed that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to donate to a presidential campaign online or via their cellphones. Around 57 percent of Democratic donors gave money to a candidate via email or online, while 34 percent of Republicans did the same.

The same pattern was true for campaign giving via cellphone, with 15 percent of Democratic donors reporting that they contributed to a presidential campaign via text message or mobile application, according to Pew. Just 6 percent of Republicans gave the same answer.

Pew reported that 87 percent of Republican donors said they donated money to a presidential campaign via traditional snail mail, over the telephone or in person. Pew said it limited its survey to presidential campaign donations because “few (if any) congressional or state-level candidates currently accept mobile donations at this time.”

While campaign giving via text message is still a new capability, Pew noted that it’s a common way for people to make charitable donations. A Pew study from January found that one in 10 adults in the U.S. have used text messaging to donate to a charitable cause.