For the first time since we started monitoring social media conversations about each candidate, Ted Cruz has jumped to second place. His performance in the #GOPDebate helped increase his social buzz by +71% versus the prior week, and +39% versus his 28-day average. Activity around Donald Trump and Marco Rubio increased considerably too, while Ben Carson and Jeb Bush saw decreases of -1% and -12% compared to their 28-day average.

Read Also: Iowa Caucus—Can Social Media Analytics Predict Who Will Win?

For the last three week’s we’ve seen a breakaway pack of five that includes Trump, Cruz, Carson, Rubio, and Bush. If this remains consistent, should the next prime-time debate be limited to these candidates?

 
We also track a social influence score via our contextual proprietary algorithm ZPoints®. Unlike other scores, we measure social media activity and engagement connected to specific topics of conversation. When we look at this measure, conversations about Cruz are more influential as they gain +4% versus his 10% share in raw activity. Most of this gain is taken directly from Trump. Cruz’s audience is more passionate and engaged than other candidates’.

If you’re interested in seeing more election data, or how Zoomph can help your influencer marketing campaigns, tweet us @Zoomph or email us at info@zoomph.com.