LGK Note: According to social strategist Jeff Bullas, a typical Twitter account holder has an average of 208 followers. For 25 elected officials, America’s Most Popular Members of Congress on Twitter, the count ranges from 78,000 to more than 2.1 million followers (surprising, considering the latest Gallup survey, which indicates a majority of Americans have little to no confidence in Congress). Long gone are the days of writing a letter, calling a switchboard or stopping by a local office to compliment, complain, support, or dissent. Today we tweet, post, like, dislike, or add a sentimental emoji. The takeaway is that beyond the numbers, social engagement is the new citizen activism. In other words, particularly for small businesses and brands, social engagement is a real-time tool for customer service, public relations, and reputation management. Use your platforms wisely.
America’s Most Followed Members of Congress
Posted on June 23, 2016 by Palmer Gibbs
In order to discern which members of Congress are favored most by Americans, Graphiq politics site InsideGov turned to Twitter. InsideGov looked at the Twitter accounts of U.S. representatives and senators, and used each person’s follower count to create a list of America’s favorite politicians on Capitol Hill.
The full data set covers 532 members of Congress, and reflects follower counts as of June 21, 2016. The list goes from smallest to largest follower count.
#25. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Klobuchar has 78,786 Twitter followers.
#24. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.
Ros-Lehtinen has 79,170 Twitter followers.
#23. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.
Ellison has 79,926 Twitter followers.
#22. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Boxer has 80,471 Twitter followers.
#21. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
Grassley has 99,289 Twitter followers.
#20. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Graham has 103,197 Twitter followers.
#19. Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn.
Murphy has 105,362 Twitter followers.
#18. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
Lewis has 110,190 Twitter followers.
#17. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah
Chaffetz has 115,155 Twitter followers.
#16. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Scott has 123,421 Twitter followers.
#15. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.
Schumer has 142,944 Twitter followers.
#14. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Gillibrand has 177,167 Twitter followers.
#13. Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Calif.
Issa has 219,835 Twitter followers.
#12. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
Lee has 228,859 Twitter followers.
#11. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
Franken has 245,647 Twitter followers.
#10. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.
Gowdy has 276,537 Twitter followers.
#9. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Reid has 337,180 Twitter followers.
#8. Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis.
Ryan has 682,402 Twitter followers.
#7. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Warren has 715,810 Twitter followers.
#6. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas
Cruz has 784,497 Twitter followers.
#5. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Pelosi has 807,559 Twitter followers.
#4. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Paul has 864,252 Twitter followers.
#3. Sen. Cory A. Booker, D-N.J.
Booker has 1,654,204 Twitter followers.
#2. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
McCain has 2,013,646 Twitter followers.
#1. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt.
Sanders has 2,149,022 Twitter followers.
Who is your favorite member of Congress on Twitter? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
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