Politics

What Role Is Twitter Playing in the 2012 Presidential Campaign?

Presidential Candidates Use Twitter to Spread Political Messages

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter is abuzz with presidential candidates this year, though not all in the Twittersphere are equal.

Rick Santorum tweets a lot more than Rick Perry, Herman Cain is the Republican most likely to be retweeted, and their Twitter followers are dwarfed by President Barack Obama’s.

That‘s according to an Associated Press analysis of the presidential candidates’ use of Twitter that found widely different levels of engagement, despite the site’s emergence as a go-to hub for political communication.

The AP analyzed each candidate’s Twitter stream beginning the day he or she joined the presidential contest through Monday, Oct. 24. The data, available from Twitter’s website, highlights every message posted by candidates, as well as how many times their messages were “retweeted,” or reposted, by other users on the site.

No one believes the campaign will be won or lost on Twitter – it’s just one slice of an enormous communication effort each campaign wages in cyberspace. But with a well-timed 140 character blast, candidates can make news, respond to charges or reinforce talking points in a matter of seconds.

Presidential Candidates Use Twitter to Spread Political Messages“Candidates are living in a new media ecology that rewards speed, and there is no faster way to distribute your message intact than over Twitter,” said Andrew Rasiej, the founder of Personal Democracy Media which tracks the intersection of media and politics. “If TV ads were the rifles of campaign battles in the past, Twitter is the machine gun used to distribute a message or annihilate an opponent.”

And unlike pricy television and Web advertising, tweeting is free. That’s one reason some of the financially struggling candidates have relied on Twitter as a way to promote themselves away from the media filter.

To that end, the AP found the Newt Gingrich campaign, which trails many other rivals in fundraising and is more than $1 million in debt, to be one of the most active on Twitter. The former House speaker has Tweeted more than 470 times as of last Monday.

Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, had tweeted 326 times to more than 35,000 followers.

Presidential Candidates Use Twitter to Spread Political Messages

Texas Gov. Rick Perry

Perry, the well-funded Texas governor, is at the other end of the Twitter spectrum. His campaign has sent 42 tweets to more than 99,000 followers under his Twitter handle, (at)GovernorPerry, since he launched his presidential campaign in August.

“20% Flat Tax is the way to go! Cut, Balance and Grow plan,” Perry’s campaign tweeted after delivering a speech announcing his flat tax plan Tuesday.

Over the weekend, Perry tweeted that he was enjoying “a picture perfect Sunday at home with the greatest woman in the world….”

A candidate’s Twitter feed is often a reflection of his or her persona.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign has tweeted 233 times under the Twitter handle (at)MittRomney to more than 150,000 followers, almost all directly from Twitter’s website. Most of his messages have been relatively safe, largely reflecting the campaign’s orderly nature.

“Excited & honored to officially be on the NH ballot-great being there yesterday with Gov. Sununu,” Romney tweeted after receiving the endorsement of New Hampshire’s former governor.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has taken a riskier approach. Trailing in polls, Huntsman has used Twitter to raise eyebrows and draw attention to his unconventional candidacy.

Presidential Candidates Use Twitter to Spread Political Messages

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman

Huntsman, who served as Obama’s ambassador to China, responded to a renewed debate about Obama‘s birthplace Tuesday after Perry questioned the validity of the president’s birth certificate. “Barack Obama was born in America. Period,” Huntsman tweeted to some 44,300 followers.

The AP analysis found Huntsman had sent 120 tweets since becoming a candidate.

The success of a candidate‘s Twitter strategy can in part be gauged in how often a candidate’s message is retweeted by followers to a broader audience. By that measure, the AP analysis found Cain has outpaced his GOP rivals.

Cain, the former pizza magnate, has sent 579 messages to about 142,000 followers under (at)THEHermanCain handle since joining the race. Of those, 144 have been retweeted more than 100 times.

Despite their best efforts, none of the Republicans are in the same league with the president when it comes to the successful use of Twitter.

Presidential Candidates Use Twitter to Spread Political Messages

President Barack Obama

Obama, whose campaign revolutionized the use of the Internet as a fundraising and organizational tool in his 2008 campaign, has 10.8 million Twitter followers. His campaign, under the handle (at)BarackObama, has tweeted 731 times since launching his re-election bid. Of those, 690 were retweeted more than 100 times.

Most of his tweets are sent by staff, but Obama has personally tweeted a handful of times, such as when he went to Capitol Hill to pitch his jobs plan in September. Tweets directly from the president are signed -bo.

Obama’s digital advisers acknowledge the campaign had a huge head start online against the Republican field. But they also maintain the success of their Twitter strategy, particularly measured by their retweets, comes from using Twitter to ask supporters to take a specific action – attending an event, watching a speech, sharing their story about how his jobs plan might help them. The Republicans haven’t learned yet how to make best use of the platform, Obama advisers say.

“Fundamentally, you are trying to shape a relationship with voters. Go volunteer, donate, go vote. It’s not a novelty for us,” Obama campaign digital director Teddy Goff said.

Comments (31)

  • babylonvi
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 11:13pm

    Don’t tweet, don’t care to. Seems like a waste of time unless you have nothing else to do.

    Report Post » babylonvi  
  • uncleherbert
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:29pm

    Well twitter this. Just found out “Petter Lewis” CEO of Progressive Auto Insurance, has matched donations with George Sorros for moveon.org and other leftis causes. Go Tea !

    Report Post » uncleherbert  
  • dictionmary
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 6:18pm

    The twits are giving themselves too much credit.

    Report Post » dictionmary  
  • gmoneytx
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 4:13pm

    tweets are for lemmings…

    Report Post » gmoneytx  
  • AnnMarie
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 2:56pm

    The Republicans need to come up with a slogan to respond to the “We Can’t Wait” theme we keep hearing. What about using the Hope and Change or Get it Right in 2012, or White House has become the Wrong House…

    Report Post »  
  • tjzbears
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 2:16pm

    Here’s another roll..If you notice, americanselect.org is advertising on this website (http://patriotupdate.com)((They plan on influencing the national election in 2012. Problem is…so far, only far LEFT individuals have taken the time to answer the questions. Take an hour or so and answer their questions. So far, 88% of respondents believe ABORTION SHOULD BE LEGAL! Flood that website with your answers. They plan on being a force in the upcoming election. When I filled out their 250-questions, I was appalled to be in the far-right minority. PLEASE take the time to fill it out and get involved. They have a lot of registered voters taking place in their project, and if they have it their way, they’ll have a candidate up for president who thinks the way the majority of their questionnaire takers do. STEP UP! 1.9 million have signed up. some of the answers were very disheartening. More conservatives need to get on and change the debate.

    Report Post »  
  • Founding Father2
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 12:52pm

    The same issue can be made with the type of ads made by these candidates, completely different ads and messages. Romney always attacks Obama, Perry is always about himself (introduction), Cain is always down to earth and interesting, et.

    Then Romney had an ad attacking Perry and CNN made them drop it. Now Rick Perry released one and it disappeared for no reason. Now a new video came up in its place. No one knows why? Here it is: http://www.thedailycandidate.com/video/2011/oct/perry_ad_doer.html

    Report Post »  
  • jmiller_42
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 11:15am

    You can look at each candidates tweets and retweets, but just do a twitter search for each candidate’s name and you will see which one THE PEOPLE are talking about, and favorably. Ron Paul

    Report Post » jmiller_42  
    • Jaycen
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 2:02pm

      LOL – I don’t think so, JMiller_42. Ron Paul has a lot of anti-Semetic followers, and his stance can be cleanly described as Neo-Liberal. He’s not “the people’s choice”, unless those people are Nazis or Progressives.

      He‘s got a singular stand that’s anti-centralization, and that’s his stand on the Federal Reserve. Based on his other planks, I wonder if he wouldn’t just replace it with something worse or just as poorly constructed.

      Report Post » Jaycen  
    • riseandshine
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 4:04pm

      Ron Paul 2012

      Report Post » riseandshine  
    • c0mm0nsense
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 9:46pm

      @ jay What are talking about? Tweeting makes you hate Jews? Have you been at the saloon with Perry?

      Report Post » c0mm0nsense  
  • JoJoinSC
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 9:51am

    Chris Holly performs Dylan Classic for Bachmann, Cain, Perry and Huntsman town halls, upsetting the left music fans. See Chris w/ Rick Santorum Nov 12th in SC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AokBQwrn6u0

    Report Post » JoJoinSC  
  • Stoic one
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 9:36am

    This is an additional communication venue that like the Internet as a whole has a lot of potential. Mocking it is not wise.
    Kennedy used televised debates very well against Nixon. Clinton used the entertainment side of television for some effect. Obama DID use the internet to good results last election. Twitter and Facebook currently are HUGE. It would be unwise to not use all the tools available (especially free ones) to try and reach every possible voter.

    Report Post » Stoic one  
  • spudwhite
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 9:17am

    Once again, Ron Paul is the elephant in the room no one sees. I don’t “tweet”, don‘t care to and don’t see why this is a story expect for the fact that even in something as trivial as tweeting (by the way, Ron Paul’s tweet count is 462, I think it was) The AP can’t stand to mention his name. Here’s some reasons to vote for the man.
    http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi192.html

    Report Post »  
    • Jaycen
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 4:00pm

      We all see him, we just don’t like him. His foreign policy ideas are NUTTY, to put it kindly. He surrounds himself with anti-Semites, and the more he talks, the more Progressive Liberal his ideas sound.

      Report Post » Jaycen  
    • riseandshine
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 4:06pm

      Progressive…lol

      Report Post » riseandshine  
    • c0mm0nsense
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 9:53pm

      @ Jay again you talk about hating Jews? I dont see the Paul Supporters spewing anti-jew rhetoric. Or are they hidding this in the tweets?

      Report Post » c0mm0nsense  
  • TheMisstiff15
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:48am

    It must be a slow news day.

    Report Post » TheMisstiff15  
  • BCPATIOT
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:48am

    @ spankyhemonkey,this is what I needed-a good chuckle. Twitter,tweet jargon…feels like an endless cartoon…

    Report Post » BCPATIOT  
  • southernORcobra
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:46am

    funny I‘ve never really gone to twitter for anything and certainly don’t follow it.

    Report Post »  
  • ares338
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:20am

    I knew who would be tweeting the homies uh huh.

    Report Post » ares338  
  • c0mm0nsense
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:05am

    Question should be…. Who is twitting the most ladies in the office?

    Report Post » c0mm0nsense  
  • Islesfordian
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 7:45am

    Which is the biggest twit? That’s the real question.

    Report Post » Islesfordian  
  • gabbygirl
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 7:31am

    Who cares?

    Report Post » gabbygirl  
  • Obama_Sham
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 7:24am

    “Which Presidential Candidate Is Tweeting the Most?”

    Who cares?!?

    Report Post » Obama_Sham  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on October 31, 2011 at 7:17am

    You’re not going to “Tweet” yourself into the White House gentlemen.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • SpankDaMonkey
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 7:27am

      .
      But Tweeting your Meat will get you kicked out………………

      Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
    • Cat
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 10:02am

      Prefer the original form of communication
      Talking to each other

      Many are talking about the few who talk while the few are talking with little said

      Report Post » Cat  

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