Republicans ramp up their social media presence before third presidential debate

By JANA KASPERKEVIC
Hearst Washington Bureau

Less than a week ago, during the second presidential debate, Mitt Romney lost the debate on social media. And it seems as if the Republicans paid attention — and are trying to do better this time around.

A closer look at today’s promoted trends and tweets reveals that pro-Romney/Ryan Twitter users such as @ESActionFund and @AmericanXRoads have spent money to get their messages out there through promoted tweets, while Romney For President, Inc. has paid for a Worldwide and U.S. wide trend – #CantAfford4More.

According to its bio, @ESActionFund is an official twitter account of Ending Spending Action Fund, which “proudly supports Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates who favor reducing the size of government & balancing the budget.”

Tweets promoted by @ESActionFund currently appear as top results on searches for “Barack Obama” as well as “@BarackObama.”

And while a promoted tweet appears as top result on search for “Mitt Romney,” it’s a pro-Romney/Ryan tweet paid for by a conservative super PAC American Crossroads.

Interestingly enough, among suggested “Barack Obama” related topics are celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Jason Mraz and Ellen DeGeneres, only reinforcing Republican’s claim that Obama is a celebrity president.