Social media sentiment is becoming a bigger barometer for political strategists as presidential candidates angle for 2016, and with over a year and a half before the election Facebook has fresh information revealing the most buzzed-about potential contenders.
Interaction numbers for Republicans who appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week from Tuesday to Friday reveal Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker out in front of other potential Republican candidates.
Walker amassed 1,353,365 interactions, which is measured in Facebook likes, posts, comments and shares.
Ranking behind him was Donald Trump (599,488), Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (589,184), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (539,884); Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (532,413), Dr. Ben Carson (449,788), former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (305,941); Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (301,875) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (140,783).
Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, had 1,532,786 interactions during that time.
Media organizations are leveraging Facebook and Twitter heavily as part of their 2016 coverage with broadcast divisions like ABC News and NBC News weaving in social media analytics and interactions along with the big three cable news channels.