Twitter falls by the wayside for former RNC candidates

Only one of the three top candidates for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee (RNC) earlier this year still actively use Twitter, after having promised to make good use of the site during their campaign.

Former Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis — the most active Twitterer going into the race — is still the only one to use his Twitter page with any regularity.

Of the other two candidates, former South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson has not tweeted since Feb. 25th, while the eventual winner, current RNC Chairman Michael Steele, has not tweeted since Jan. 30th.

During a debate sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) during the chairmanship, all the candidates pledged to make good use of Twitter and other new media platforms to spread the GOP message.

VIEW A TRANSCRIPT OF WHAT THE CANDIDATES SAID ABOUT TWITTER AFTER THE JUMP.

Watch a video of that debate below:

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Here’s what the candidates had to say:

MR. NORQUIST: Okay. Do you use Twitter? And how many followers do you have? Michael?

MR. STEELE: I do, and the number’s growing. The last time I checked, it was about 3(00), 400. I’m not sure of the exact number now.

MR. NORQUIST: Okay.

MR. : Same thing, 3(00) or 400.

MR. : We do. We’re just not doing it today because you told us we couldn’t.

MR. NORQUIST: Yeah. It interferes with the mikes, because everybody can twitter from where you are. Yes.

MR. ANUZIS (?): Yes, I do twitter. But let me just say that I have 4,000 friends on Facebook. That’s probably more than these two guys put together — (laughter) — but I — but who’s counting, you know? (Laughter.)

MR. : I’ll beat you on Facebook any day.

MR. : Yes, I do twitter. I have probably just under 3,000 followers.

MR. NORQUIST: Chip?

MR. SALTSMAN: I do twitter. Not near as much as Saul. I’m not sure all of us combined twitter as much as Saul. I have a couple hundred followers.

MR. NORQUIST: Mike?

MR. DUNCAN: I do not twitter, but I make available to all of you, through www.gop.com, the ability to twitter. It’s also on my personal website, mikeforchairman.com. And understanding the technology and using the technology are two different things, and I understand how to effectively use it.

MR. NORQUIST: Okay. Katon, are you on Facebook or MySpace, and how many friends do you have?

MR. DAWSON: Facebook, and several hundred.

MR. BLACKWELL: I’ve already made the case for Facebook.

MR. ANUZIS: Facebook, and I’m somewhere between 2(,000) and 3,000. (Laughter.)

MR. SALTSMAN: Facebook, and about 700.

MR. DUNCAN: Personal blog, and lots of followers during the campaign.

MR. : Facebook, about 2(,000) to 3,000, somewhere in there.