#GASen: More vanishing GOPers, strong Dem networks (+ bonus bot!)

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by john

District summary: #GASen is actually two districts, thanks to the magic of special elections (and non-specific Twitter hashtags). The first is the regular election for current GOP officeholder David Perdue’s seat, where Democrat Jon Ossof is the primary challenger. The second is the special election for well-heeled GOP incumbent Kelly Loeffler‘s seat, which is still Read more about #GASen: More vanishing GOPers, strong Dem networks (+ bonus bot!)[…]

#GA-07: The case of the disappearing GOP

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by john

District summary: Georgia’s 7th congressional district: An open-seat district where Twitter megaphones have brought considerable attention from around the country. Several high-intensity non-campaign accounts and retweet networks have driven traffic to outsized levels here over past months. But in the last week, Republicans have practically disappeared. Current status: Democrats supporting Carolyn Bourdeaux, a professor and Read more about #GA-07: The case of the disappearing GOP[…]

Tracking potential traffic manipulation for districts and hashtags

Posted on October 13, 2020October 13, 2020 by john

SUMMARY: Pollchatter’s “Hashtag warnings” and “District warnings” pages give an indication of which hashtags and districts might be the target of deliberate traffic manipulation. Numbers matter on Twitter. Retweets, likes, followers, networks of influence. But it’s not always obvious how fluctuations in these factors should be interpreted. It’s thus helpful to have a measure of Read more about Tracking potential traffic manipulation for districts and hashtags[…]

Hashtag spotlight: #defundthepolice

Posted on October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 by john

Here is an irony of political opportunism. After months of protest, broken families and some real social progress, #defundthepolice is among the top-ranking hashtags in Pollchatter’s election-Twitter watch. However, it’s entirely Republicans driving it. Yesterday’s massive surge came largely from retweets of a post by GOP challenger Sean Parnell in PA-17. Parnell accuses Democratic incumbent Read more about Hashtag spotlight: #defundthepolice[…]

Sept 21 trends: Mourning RBG, taking down Lindsey Graham

Posted on September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 by john

Top House hashtags: 1. #qanon: This has shown pretty consistent levels over the last 10 days. In most of its high-retweet instances, it’s focusing on #GA-07, where Democrat Carolyn Bordeaux is running against Rich McCormick, who Democrats accuse of being a QAnon adherent. 2. #txpolitics: Today comes largely in the context of open letters to Read more about Sept 21 trends: Mourning RBG, taking down Lindsey Graham[…]

Sept 17 trends: Hopeful polls and healthcare concerns

Posted on September 17, 2020September 17, 2020 by john

Top House hashtags: 1. #wtpblue 2. #onev1 3. #qanon Top Senate hashtags: 1. #demcastme 2. #demcastsc 3. #mepolitics Interesting climbers: #aca – This refers, of course, to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Both sides are using the hashtag for their own purposes. The most popular post today comes from Texas 07, where Republicans argue Read more about Sept 17 trends: Hopeful polls and healthcare concerns[…]

Sept. 14 trends

Posted on September 14, 2020September 14, 2020 by john

LAST 24 HOURS IN A NUTSHELL: Top House hashtags: #parnellsplatoon #trump2020 #qanon Top Senate hashtags: #endpoliticalcorruption #demcastme #mepolitics Interesting climbers: #maskupmt: This time around, a lament that current #MTSen Senator Steve Daines is holding a “law enforcement appreciation BBQ” in Bozeman, MT, thus exposing police to COVID-19. #americandream: Here, purely retweets of an elderly tweet Read more about Sept. 14 trends[…]

Pollchatter: a reintroduction

Posted on September 9, 2020September 10, 2020 by john

This is a reintroduction, a reappearance. Mayflies come out only once every two years, right? Or is that cicadas? Back to you on that one. In any case: Pollchatter is a site meant to help make sense of the bewildering stream of election content on Twitter. It tracks tweets that reference any of 117 competitive Read more about Pollchatter: a reintroduction[…]

A visual overview of 2018’s election Twitter

Posted on November 5, 2018September 10, 2020 by john

Summary Election activity on Twitter in the final days of the 2018 midterms comes with bewildering speed. However, a look at the networks formed by the highest-frequency posters in all competitive races show that Democrats and Republicans have different patterns of interaction. Methodology The graph below is a slightly stylized look at the most active Read more about A visual overview of 2018’s election Twitter[…]

Nov. 1 trends: Healthcare and early voting

Posted on November 1, 2018 by john

LAST 24 HOURS IN A NUTSHELL: Top House hashtags: #protectourcare #gopdelete8 #maga Top Senate hashtags: #letsflymi #teamjohnjames #keeptexasred Interesting climbers: #walkaway (9th place House): This is a frequently used GOP (or GOP-backing propaganda troll?) hashtag alleging that Democrats are “walking away” from their party thanks to disgust with Obama, identity politics, communism, etc. Haven’t seen Read more about Nov. 1 trends: Healthcare and early voting[…]