Trending on Facebook: 9/11 - 9/17
Which midterm candidates received the most engagement last week?
Content that is shared organically on social media platforms like Facebook can have a much larger impact than paid advertising. Which midterm candidates are receiving the most reactions, comments, and shares on their campaign’s Facebook posts?
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FWIW, here were the most engaged U.S. Senate candidates on Facebook last week:
For the eleventh week in a row, John Fetterman again led Facebook post engagement among Senate candidates, far outpacing all other candidates nationwide. His most engaged posts last week were a photo of a lunch date with his wife, Giselle, and a campaign attack video calling Dr. Oz “a fraud.”
Among Republicans running for Senate, Herschel Walker received the most engagement. His top post was a video attacking Raphael Warnock for “profiting” from his time in office.
The U.S. Senate candidate with the largest audience growth on Facebook last week was also John Fetterman, who gained +1,800 new page followers, followed by Herschel Walker (+520 new followers).
Year-to-date, here are the leading U.S. Senate candidates ranked by Facebook engagement:
Meanwhile, here’s a look at total Facebook post engagement last week for battleground gubernatorial candidates:
For the thirteenth week in a row, Beto O’Rourke’s campaign led Facebook post engagement among gubernatorial hopefuls nationwide. Beto’s most-engaged posts include a photo of the candidate in Brownsville, and another text-only post attacking Greg Abbott for inaction on gun violence.
However, the single top-performing post among candidates for governor last week came from Gov. Greg Abbott, who shared a pic of his niece, a police officer, with the hashtag #BackTheBlue.
The gubernatorial candidates with the largest audience growth on Facebook last week were Kari Lake, who gained +1,700 page followers, followed by Tudor Dixon, who gained +1,400 new followers during the same period.
…and year-to-date, here are the leading gubernatorial candidates ranked by Facebook engagement:
Interestingly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has trailed several other Republicans in terms of engagement all year - despite the persistent buzz about his grassroots fame and presidential aspirations. 👀
*Data comes from CrowdTangle. Charts include campaign, personal, or political Facebook pages, not official federal or state government social media accounts.