While current Republican presidential candidates continue to overflow people’s Twitter and Facebook feeds as they work their way to South Carolina, what happened to two of the biggest names who dropped out?
Michele Bachmann, for one, has simply let her accounts sit cold.
Herman Cain, on the other hand, has continued posting with the same frantic pace he did during the campaign.
Bachmann, the Minnesota Representative, dropped out of the 2012 race soon after a sixth-place finish in Iowa. But you wouldn’t know that if you were on her Facebook page. In fact you’d actually think it’s still Jan. 3, the last time anything was posted. And it’s the same story on her Twitter account, its last tweet encouraging people to attend the campaign’s caucus celebration, which would eventually turn into a campaign funeral.
Her social-media efforts might not matter. Bachmann continues to lose “likes” on Facebook. In fact, according to Socialbakers.com, between Dec. 26 and Jan. 10, Bachmann has had only one day where she actually gained fans. Since Jan. 3, the day of the Iowa caucuses, she has lost more than 600.
Meanwhile, her website does note that Bachmann has left the race, but she’s still taking donations; for what, we don’t know.
Cain, on the other hand, is still active on Twitter and Facebook, promoting his Cain’s Solution Revolution which is his effort to keep the 9-9-9 tax plan alive.
On Jan. 4, Cain announced that he was going to continue promoting the tax plan and it appears social media has been a big part of that effort. Cain posts on both sites at least a few times a day, mostly promoting television appearances, but also offering observations of the campaign, mostly criticizing President Barack Obama. People are noticing: most posts have hundreds or thousands of “likes.” It also seems that he hasn’t lost many fans since he left the race.
One thing you won’t see on his Facebook or Twitter is an endorsement—at least not anytime soon. Cain told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday that he would not endorse any GOP candidate during the primary.
Photo by Gage Skidmore