Presidential races

Sanders comes out victorious on Twitter during debate

by Caitlin Yilek

There may not have been a clear victor at Sunday’s Democratic debate on NBC, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came out victorious on social media. 

{mosads}The Democratic socialist garnered 47 percent of the debate conversation on Twitter, according to data from the company. Former secretary of State Hillary Clinton trailed closely behind at 42 percent, leaving former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley with 11 percent. 

Sanders also gained the most new followers on the social platform, followed by O’Malley.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump gained more followers than Clinton and O’Malley during Sunday’s debate, though not as many as Sanders. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) rounded out the top five. 

The back and forth on Wall Street between Sanders and Clinton was the most-tweeted moment during the debate. 

Sanders repeatedly hammered Clinton for her ties to the financial industry. 

“I don’t take money from big banks,” Sanders said, accusing Clinton of accepting $600,000 from Goldman Sachs in one year. “I don’t get personal speaking fees from Goldman Sachs.” 

But it was when Sanders gave Clinton serious side-eye over claims of disloyalty to Obama that Twitter attention truly peaked. 

A Vine showing the side-eye was the most retweeted tweet of the debate. 

Presidential races