Technology

Marianne Williamson most searched-for candidate during Democratic debate

Marianne Williamson was the most searched candidate during Tuesday night’s Democratic debates, according to Google Trends.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came in second, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

{mosads}Williamson, a celebrity spiritual adviser and long-shot presidential candidate, also saw one of the most significant search spikes during last month’s debates. Throughout Tuesday night, her speeches about topics including reparations, poverty and “dark psychic forces” drew rounds of applause from the audience.

Google searches for the phrase “dark psychic force” also trended during the debates after Williamson used the term to illustrate her concerns about the Trump administration.

“If you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred that this president is bringing up in this country, then I’m afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days,” Williamson warned to applause from the audience.

Shortly after her remarks, there was a sharp spike in users Googling “dark psychic force,” peaking in popularity around 9:40 PM, according to Google Trends. 

Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) saw significant increases in Google searches for their names during the first hour of the debates, with Delaney’s name seeing a 3,400 percent spike and Ryan seeing a 3,200 percent increase. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) came next, indicating the trend is connected to fewer voters knowing who those candidates are.

At the outset of the evening, searches for “debate” overtook “Bachelorette,” the mega-popular television show that aired at the same time on Tuesday night, according to Google trends.