The Republican Party aims to build a digital operation that surpasses the one President Obama built for the 2012 campaign. Time, and two upcoming elections, will show whether the GOP succeeds.

The effort, begun this summer, is largely the responsibility of 33-year-old former Facebook engineer Andy Barkett, the Republican National Committee’s chief technology officer. Barkett’s plan is to refine and advance the innovative technology harnessed by Obama’s campaign organization to identify and turn out voters.