The first debate tonight between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney could be the turning point in the sprint for the White House. Will Obama solidify his lead going into the final weeks? Will Romney make a surprise showing and change the course of the race in Denver, Colo.?
There is a very likely chance that the debate could be one of the busiest moments on Twitter during this entire campaign, attracting political viewers and Twitter users from both sides of the aisle. While hashtags such as #DenverDebate were already taking off in the days ahead of the event, here are some must follow accounts.
Of course, there’s the candidates themselves. No doubt, both @BarackObama and @MittRomney feeds will be buzzing during the debate, as each camp tries to supplement Twitter watchers with more information about the candidates. But there will also be teams of advisors who are worth following.
On Romney’s side, you’ll want to keep an eye on senior advisor Kevin Madden, communication director Gail Gitcho, senior advisor Eric Fehrnstrom, and last but not least, Romney’s Rapid Response team, which will likely jump into action the moment either candidate makes a mistake. On Obama’s team, there’s campaign manager Jim Messina, advisor David Axelrod, and deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter. Obama’s rapid spin doctors can also be followed at @TruthTeam2012.
There will be almost too many journalists to follow in Denver, but one account to keep an eye on will be @NewsHour, the PBS show helmed by debate host Jim Lehrer. The following week, ABC’s Martha Raddatz will take to the moderators chair for the vice-presidential debate. The final two presidential debates will be hosted by CNN’s Candy Crowley and CBS’s Bob Schieffer respectively.
While the debate will be broadcast on television, it will also be hosted online at YouTube and its new politics election hub. The YouTube channel is curating content from other media sites, including a fascinating look at the history of televised debates.
Photo via White House/Flickr
