Going into Super Tuesday, Mitt Romney has math on his side in both the delegate count and on social media. On Twitter and Facebook, Romney is once again adding more fans and followers than any other GOP candidate, including Rick Santorum, his closest competition.
The rise in social media clout, which has been there since the beginning for Romney, shows that Republican voters may now be slowly accepting the front runner.
In the last month, Romney has gained more than 105,000 likes on Facebook, compared to Santorum’s gain of only 62,000 fans. According to SocialBakers.com, the last month had seen big gains for Romney’s competition, but now he’s once again gaining speed. The only candidate out pacing Romney now is Ron Paul, who has always been a social media force but hasn’t been able to translate that into success at the ballot box..
On Twitter, Romney is picking up steam too. According to a chart produced by Twitter, the mentions of candidates has pretty much followed the news cycle: When Newt Gingrich won South Carolina he topped out in mentions and a few weeks later, and Santorum did the same when he won three contests in one night. But in the first few days of March, Romney is starting to leave his competition. According to Topsy.com, Romney gained 22,000 Twitter mentions on March 4, while Santorum got half that on the same day; on previous days that gap has been closer.
Of course, likes aren’t the only way to tell how a candidate is doing, but interactions between followers and the candidate is another great way to show the power of a profile.
Perhaps the best picture of Romney’s social media strength on Monday night was a Facebook post that simply read: “We’re going to take back the White House. We’re going to take back our country.” Within three hours of posting it, the message had gained more than 15,000 likes, almost 2,500 comments, and had been shared more than 400 times. Meanwhile, a much more bulky statement by Santorum was getting only a fraction of the attention.
As this primary season has proved, however, things may look different on Wednesday morning. Only time—and votes, likes and follows—will tell.
Photo via Facebook