Republicans May Like Rick Perry But They Aren't Ready to Friend Him

I've been following the Republican 2012 primary race in the polls and on Facebook since January. We now have a new situation. Rick Perry is leading in the polls but hasn't built up a corresponding following on Facebook.

Candidate	Friends on 1/16/2011	Friends on 3/16/2011	Friends on 5/16/2011	Friends on 7/16/2011	Friends on 9/16/2011
Barack Obama	17,822,152	18,632,331	20,413,245	22,038,067	23,133,522
Joe Biden	271,971	274,670	282,433	299,388	304,953
Sarah Palin	2,606,586	2,777,509	2,957,627	3,191,711	3,238,066
Mitt Romney	751,391	814,705	899,055	1,041,454	1,110,938
Ron Paul	307,493	307,495	356,452	419,099	510,540
Michele Bachmann	150,467	187,433	258,370	422,366	462,345
Herman Cain	42,289	55,720	90,146	149,820	176,534
Rick Perry	51,455	52,180	52,854	70,425	160,305
Jim DeMint	127,177	129,848	133,363	143,436	148,845
Newt Gingrich	100,489	113,269	131,779	142,281	148,009
Gary Johnson	-	110,466	114,000	129,275	134,036
Rick Santorum	12,211	13,252	16,221	23,482	27,860
Jon Huntsman	-	1,555	2,280	9,347	17,832
Thaddeus McCotter	-	-	9,909	11,812	12,552
Peter King	-	-	11,232	11,525	11,652
Jimmy McMillan	-	8,362	8,675	9,141	9,988
Roy Moore	-	-	70	8,235	8,294
Buddy Roemer	-	570	1,496	1,806	4,590
Rudy Giuliani	1,891	2,194	2,535	3,211	4,289
Fred Karger	681	826	1,458	2,117	3,398
Andy Martin	-	-	560	570	573
Jonathon Sharkey	-	-	159	170	352
Mike Huckabee	522,079	541,409	586,020	647,376	658,920
Donald Trump	146,866	184,512	272,108	300,401	318,603
Scott Brown	-	-	237,462	239,086	239,053
Rand Paul	-	105,001	117,287	137,580	146,080
Bobby Jindal	121,977	122,353	125,614	129,824	130,959
Tim Pawlenty	69,985	73,135	86,907	103,337	102,720
Paul Ryan	50,908	56,496	71,923	79,181	83,785
John Thune	74,754	74,837	75,211	75,442	75,244
Allen West	-	-	64,057	67,330	74,568
Scott Walker	-	61,527	63,129	64,621	66,083
Mitch Daniels	39,413	44,528	49,908	50,614	51,175
Mike Pence	45,923	47,712	48,542	48,893	48,949
Chris Christie	29,388	33,990	36,536	42,563	46,671
Mike Bloomberg	29,862	30,344	31,316	32,879	36,995
Haley Barbour	16,854	17,459	18,168	18,604	18,775
John Bolton	5,170	5,658	6,056	6,354	6,826
Jeb Bush	4,841	5,027	5,300	5,556	5,745
Jon Greenspon	581	584	583	583	-
Total Democratic Friends	18,094,123	18,907,001	20,695,678	22,337,455	23,438,475
Total Republican Friends	5,310,731	5,979,951	6,944,368	7,841,507	8,302,149

Rick Perry has surged on Facebook in the last two months to be sure, jumping three slots, but he still hasn't crossed the Biden line, the minimum number of followers on Facebook a candidate has to have to be taken seriously. Perry may get there in the next couple of months, but then again he may not. For now, the Republican interest in Rick Perry should be judged a flirtation.

Speaking of flirts, Sarah Palin has said she will announce her decision this month, so we may learn in the next couple of weeks if we can officially cross her off. She and a few other candidates we still judge to be flirting with running have gone into italics.

Meanwhile, Ron Paul has traded places again with Michele Bachmann. Ron Paul has actually added slightly more friends than Rick Perry in the last two months. Towards the bottom of the list, Jon Huntsman and Buddy Roemer each moved up 2 slots.

Obama-Biden added 1.1 million followers in the last two months, a slowing pace but still far ahead of the Republican field which added less than half that. Of course, the Democrats only wish the election could be held on Facebook. In the real world, with the election still a year away, it looks like it is shaping up to be close.