Bernie Sanders gained the most Twitter followers after last night’s debate

Bernie Sanders topped the follower charts once again.

Feb 29, 2020, 2:17 pm*

Tech

William Turton

Bernie Sanders won last night’s Democratic debate. That is, if you’re using Twitter followers for your data.

Largest follower growth (all cands) in #DemDebate:

1. @BernieSanders
2. @RealDonaldTrump
3. @HillaryClinton
4. @MartinOMalley
5. @TedCruz

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) December 20, 2015

While Sanders beat Clinton in sheer number of followers, they were evenly matched when it came to who Twitter users were talking about.

Final share of conversation in #DemDebate:

–@HillaryClinton 44%
–@BernieSanders 44%
–@MartinOMalley 12% pic.twitter.com/PaHUGNDGUx

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) December 20, 2015

Clinton was able to snag the most tweeted moment of the debate by referencing the most popular movie of the year, Star Wars.

Top Tweeted moment of the #DemDebate: @HillaryClinton signs-off with "May the force be with you" #StarWars https://t.co/eY63tYm8Sq

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) December 20, 2015

Her stance against backdoors in encryption also gained traction online.

3rd most Tweeted #DemDebate moment: @HillaryClinton on encryption

— TwitterGov (@TwitterGov) December 20, 2015

Illustration by Max Fleishman

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*First Published: Dec 20, 2015, 2:11 pm

William Turton

Once named one of Forbes’ 20 Under 20 and hired as a staff writer for the Daily Dot when he was still a senior in high school, William Turton is a rising tech reporter focusing on information security, hacking culture, and politics. Since leaving the Daily Dot in April 2016, his work has appeared on Gizmodo, the Outline, and Vice News Tonight on HBO.