Over the past few years social media has played a big role in politics. Most recently Facebook announced that it will co-host a Republican primary debate with NBC in February 2012. The social network will not be the only one devoting page views to the election race.

YouTube has launched a new political channel today that will offer access to political campaign ads, parodies, speeches, and other relevant videos.

Online video is becoming an important tool for candidates to get their message across. “Television is missing a lot of people,” explains Zac Moffatt, digital director for Mitt Romney. “If you are not talking to them online, you are missing a massive amount of potential voters.”

YouTube has increased its coverage of American politics making it easier for people to not only find videos produced by the candidates, but also ordinary moments captured by people along the campaign trail.

The new channel – which focuses on domestic politics – will also let viewers see each candidate’s YouTube stats, including video views, subscribers, and the number of shares received.

The 2012 general election is still 13 months away, but the pressure is on to reach as many potential voters as possible. As more people are trying to keep a finger on the political pulse, it’s become more important than ever for candidates to have a social media strategy.

[Via: Mashable, Image credit: Beth Rankin]