Twitter Use by Presidential Primary Candidates During the 2012 Campaign

Bibliographic Data

ID3757585
AuthorsBethany Anne Conway (Department of Communication University of Arizona, USA), Kate Kenski (0000-0002-6064-791X, Department of Communication University of Arizona, USA), Di Wang (0000-0002-7338-3351, Department of Communication University of Arizona, USA)
Year2013
Volume57
Issue11
Pages1596-1610
Publication date2013-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764213489014
OpenAlexW2327250807
LanguageEN
Citations received61
References cited21

This study examines Twitter use by presidential candidates during the 2012 primary election. The Twitter feeds and activity levels of candidates from the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Americans Elect parties and their campaigns were gathered over a 3-month span. Variables examined include the number of tweets posted, followers gained, and followers added as well as the occurrence of hashtags, user mentions, hyperlinks, and content categories within tweets. Results showed candidates' presence on Twitter was not uniform. Tweet frequency did not necessarily result in followers gained. Interestingly, the candidates who tweeted the most were not major party nominees. As the Republican primary campaign progressed, the amount of daily tweeting by the candidates was not higher than it had been earlier in the primary season

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