How tonight’s #DemDebate played out on Twitter

Tonight, the nation convened to hear perspectives from @HillaryClinton, @BernieSanders, and @MartinOMalley during the second Democratic debate on CBS. As the candidates vied to win the party’s nomination on the @DrakeUniversity stage, Americans turned to Twitter to join the national conversation.

As a partner to CBS (@cbsnews), real-time Twitter reactions and insights were integrated into the broadcast, reflecting the digital pulse of the electorate and giving Americans a chance to have their voices heard.

This viewer’s question was answered by Clinton during the debate:

It took 8 minutes for this reaction Tweet to hit the debate stage and be answered:

Here are the moments that generated the most conversation on Twitter:

1. Clinton defends her integrity, discusses Wall Street and 9/11
2. Sanders says, “I’m still sick and tired of [hearing about] @HillaryClinton’s emails”
3. Sanders says, “I’m not that much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower”

Here are the mentioned candidates on Twitter, with share of debate conversation:

1. Clinton – 45%
2. Sanders – 41%
3. Martin O’Malley – 14%

Each candidate amassed new followers during the debate: 

1. @BernieSanders: 11,000
2. @HillaryClinton: 4,800
3. @MartinOMalley: 4,100

Here are the top Retweeted debate Tweets from each candidate:

Twitter facilitates greater accountability and transparency in government and during elections by bridging the historically wide gap between citizens and candidates, and empowering people by not only providing a platform to speak freely but also defending their right to do so. As the 2016 race evolves, Twitter will continue to be a key part of the democratic process.

You can see how the debate unfolded on Twitter here through this Twitter Moment:

#DemDebate in Des Moines recap