Sanders leads social media engagement during debate

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the second Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa, according to social media and Google data. 

Sanders was the top-searched Democratic candidate on Google during Saturday night’s debate, with 43 percent of searches going to him. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton followed closely behind with 40 percent. 

{mosads}Sanders also had the most follower growth on Twitter during the debate. He added 11,000 followers, compared to Clinton’s 4,800 and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 4,100 new followers, according to Twitter. 

Sanders’s tweets about gun safety laws, Wall Street bailouts of the middle class and tuition-free college were the top three retweeted tweets from candidates during the debate.

It’s time for commonsense gun safety laws: Universal background checks Assault weapon ban Stricter gun trafficking laws #DebateWithBernie

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 15, 2015

We bailed out Wall Street, it’s their turn to bail out the middle class and help our kids go to college tuition-free. #DebateWithBernie

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 15, 2015

Tuition-free college will give hope to millions of young people. It would be an extraordinary investment in our future. #DebateWithBernie

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 15, 2015

Clinton was the most-mentioned candidate on Twitter, however, dominating 45 percent of the conversation. Sanders followed at 41 percent. 

Clinton’s comments defending Wall Street donations after 9/11 generated the most conversation on Twitter, while Sanders’s comments on Clinton’s emails and saying “I’m not that much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower” rounded out the top 3. 

Sanders was also the most-talked-about candidate on Facebook. 

The top moment on Facebook, according to the social media platform, was an exchange between Sanders and Clinton about Wall Street campaign finance. 

“I’m not asking Wall Street or the billionaires for money,” Sanders said. “I will break up these banks, support community banks and credit unions. That’s the future of banking in America.”