Eventful Inc. said June 18 that it is teaming up with the John Edwards political campaign and will help the Democratic presidential hopeful connect with potential voters around the nation through the “Demand and Be Heard” competition on the company’s Web site, Eventful.com.

The competition is hosted at Eventful.com/johnedwards and will end July 18. The campaign uses the site’s free online service, which allows people from across the country to petition for their favorite performers or political figures to visit their city.

The metro area that demands Edwards the most will host a rally for the presidential candidate. Those seeking an Edwards appearance can also submit questions for him on the site. Edwards will then answer 10 of the winning city’s questions at the rally.

In a prepared statement, Edwards spokeswoman Colleen Murray said that online tools like Eventful help the campaign reach out to potential voters in a new way.

The service, called Eventful Demand, gives Internet users the ability to communicate with their favorite celebrity figures and the power to influence where these celebrities speak or perform.

In turn, the candidates in demand can use the voting data to determine where they will appear next and communicate with their fans via e-mail.

Jordan Glazier, Eventful’s chief executive officer, said that the company expects similar activity between other candidates and their potential voters in the run-up to the 2008 election.

Eventful is based in the University Towne Center area.

— Sam Blanchard