Oregon Facebook Primary 12-2021

12-21-2021

As the year ends, data is crystallizing into familiar patterns. Follower-rich candidates with little name recognition in Oregon or among current voters are skewing data. Removing the outliers, however, allows actual trends to be identified. The top three declared Democratic candidates are Speaker Tina Kotek, Treasurer Tobias Rad, and Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla. The most popular three Republicans are Dr. Bud Pierce, Mayor Stan Pulliam, and Mayor Kerry McQuisten. Newer candidates will ramp up their campaign efforts closer to the Primary, giving lesser known campaigns the chance to turn the tide.

The Money Primary: Republicans

Republicans Over Time

Mayor Kerry McQuisten had the largest small donation haul in November, beating Mayor Stan Pulliam and Dr. Bud Pierce for the first time.

Republican Totals

Dr. Pierce and Mayor Pulliam remain the largest recipients of small donations by an order of magnitude.

The Money Primary: Democrats

Democrats Over Time

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof saw a small drop in the number of small donations from November-December but still surpasses other Democrats by an order of magnitude.

Democratic Totals

Kristof also retains the highest total of small donations, a feat that other Democrats will struggle to reach.

The Facebook Primary: Republicans

Facebook November-December

December marked the first time in months that Mayor Kerry McQuisten did not have the largest net increase in Facebook Likes, this time beaten by Mayor Stan Pulliam. Rep. Christine Drazan saw a small increase in Likes following her campaign announcement. Dr. Bud Pierce saw a negative net increase in Likes.

Twitter November-December

Mayor Stan Pulliam rocketed upward on Twitter between November to December, while Mayor McQuisten stayed in the top 3 where she has been for months. Superintendent Marc Thielman arrived in the top 3 for growth for the first time during the campaign after consistently pulling in fewer new Followers.

The Facebook Primary: Democrats

Facebook

Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof still has the most Facebook Likes. Mayor Ted Wheeler has the most Likes among Oregon elected officials.

Twitter

Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof retains his lead on Twitter, though he has seen no net change in followers in the last two months.

Senate Candidates

Facebook

Incumbent US Senator Ron Wyden has an indomitable lead on Facebook, but he lost hundreds of Likes between November-December. The fastest growing Republican candidate is Darin Harbick, a former school board member and brief candidate for US Senate.

Twitter

Harbick was also the fastest growing Republican on Twitter. Senator Wyden saw a small negative net change in followers, followed by 2020 Green Party nominee Ibra Taher and 2020 GOP nominee Jo Rae Parkins, a former Albany Human Relations Commissioner.