US Sen. John McCain among most followed senators on Twitter
Dec 24, 2017, 12:10 PM | Updated: Mar 1, 2018, 3:28 pm
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to reporters following the weekly Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
PHOENIX — When it comes to social media, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) could very well be considered an expert.
The senior senator from Arizona had one of the most retweeted tweets for Republicans and was among the most followed senators on Twitter in 2017, according to a report from Quorum.
McCain’s tweet about President Donald Trump pardoning former Sheriff Joe Arpaio after he was convicted of contempt of court in August garnered a whopping 90,000 retweets, 216,000 “likes” and 24,000 replies.
.@POTUS's pardon of Joe Arpaio, who illegally profiled Latinos, undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law https://t.co/2FckGtwQ2m
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) August 26, 2017
It was the second-most retweeted tweets for Republicans in 2017, the report found. The first was a tweet from Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) calling the White House an “adult day care center.”
McCain also ranked among the most followed senators on Twitter, boasting just over 3 million followers. This put the Arizona senator behind Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and fellow Republican Marco Rubio.
McCain was not the only Arizona member of Congress to be recognized for their social media efforts: U.S. Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) was named among the most active representatives on Facebook, with 1,662 posts in 2017. He came in at No. 5, only to be out-posted by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Don Beyer, Mike Thompson and Will Hurd.
When it comes to social media engagement between the two main political parties, Republicans took home the gold.
The Republican Party was the most active political party on Facebook and Instagram. However, Democrats took to Twitter for their communications: The party was the most active and had the most followers on Twitter.
According to the most popular hashtags, members of Congress centered on the issues of health care, tax reform and securing a path to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.
The most popular hashtag used by members of Congress on Facebook and Twitter was #Trumpcare, followed by #ACA, #TaxReform, #ProtectOurCare, #Obamacare, #DACA, #GOPTaxScam, #Dreamers, #AHCA, #HealthCare and #TrumpRussia.
The report also found that members of Congress tweet the most around 1 p.m. and on Wednesdays. The most popular month of the year to tweet was in March.
