Why does the Win.GOP logo appear on Ruck.us?

August 12, 2019

After the site Ruck.us appeared in some Google search results, I clicked through to see what the site was about. Interestingly, the site includes Win.GOP branding in the upper left hand corner.

From looking at the source code on Ruck.us, the Win.GOP logo appears to be hosted on their site.

The domain Ruck.us was created in 2006 and is registered to the organization Ruckus, Inc. according to WHOIS records. Win.GOP was created in 2015 and details are redacted for privacy.

On its FAQ, Ruck.us states:

"IS RUCK.US DEMOCRATIC OR REPUBLICAN?
Ruck.us is a company with a point of view, and that point of view is proudly progressive. Our background is in supporting causes that matter—our founders, Nathan Daschle and Jonathan Zucker, are the former Executive Directors of the Democratic Governors’ Association and ActBlue, respectively—and we founded Ruck.us to bring that support to the local level. If you believe in using technology to spread a message of transparency, equality, and fairness, then Ruck.us is for you."

On its Frequently Asked Questions page, Win.GOP states:

"WHAT IS WIN.GOP?
Win.GOP is a free website-building tool designed to make it possible for every Republican candidate or organization at every level to get online with an attractive, powerful web presence. It’s made for people with little-to-no website experience, and is simple enough to let you go from no website to a fully fledged page in less than an hour.

Features include donation processing, voter registration, social media integration, and the ability to display endorsements.

It’s easy to get started—just head over to Win.GOP and click “Start Building Now”!"

Key Pages on Ruck.us and Win.GOP

From searching through the Internet Wayback Machine, Ruck.us underwent a design change in 2014 that resembles the look currently on the site. In reviewing earlier archived images, Win.GOP does not appear in the upper left logo area on Ruck.us.

Early captures on the Internet Wayback Machine look incomplete for Win.GOP until around 2017. In 2017 and 2018, Ruck.us and Win.GOP were similar in some ways, but also distinct from one another, based on the available archive data.

The images below were captured on 08/11/2019. Click on a screenshot to enlarge the image.