If the hope was to generate a buzz on social media, one Republican stood far above the rest in Thursday’s debate.

With 10 candidates on stage vying for the support of GOP voters, Dr. Ben Carson managed to pick up more Twitter followers during the debate than any of his competitors – by a long shot.

According to Time editor Ryan Beckwith, most of the candidates in the prime-time debate managed to pick up around 5,000 new followers – with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie earning a mere 2,000 followers. The soft-spoken neurosurgeon apparently made quite a splash on social media despite his limited time speaking, gaining an impressive 24,000 new followers.

Most candidates +5,000 to +6,000 Twitter followers during #GOPdebate, but Carson +24,000 and Rubio +11,000, while Christie only +2,000.

— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) August 7, 2015

It’s not hard to see why. Buzz over Carson’s performance continued into Friday morning.

.@foxandfriends @RealBenCarson Loved it! Class, Brains, Poise, Strength, Humor, Character, Grace…..??

— cmcl (@cmcl5) August 7, 2015

@foxandfriends @RealBenCarson Impressed!! Top 3! A real American success story.

— Kay Mitchell Kurtz (@Revkayconserv) August 7, 2015

@foxandfriends @RealBenCarson Much more to this extraordinary man than just “Gifted Hands” #ProudAmerican

— Faria (@Faria_Sheridan) August 7, 2015

While Beckwith’s statistics certainly give some insight into who seemed to win the debate among social media users, many conservatives were a little upset that former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina’s statistics were not included from her performance in the earlier debate Thursday night.

@ryanbeckwith Where’s Carly?

— Miki (@Miki9857) August 7, 2015

@TheModerateMan @justkarl i don’t have the stats, sorry

— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) August 7, 2015

After all, she was the most searched candidate on Google during the early “happy hour” debate, according to The Hill.

Fiorina dominates Google searches during ‘happy hour’ #GOPDebate: http://t.co/cp2IhsevTX pic.twitter.com/3OUlPrUXNG

— The Hill (@thehill) August 7, 2015

Still, Carson’s impressive performance shows his power to influence the Republican message moving forward. 

Especially when compared to Christie’s.  

Post debate growth on Twitter Carson +24K Rubio +11K Bush +6K Walker +6K Cruz +6K Kasich +5.9K Trump +5K Paul +5K Huckabee +4K Christie +2K

— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) August 7, 2015

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Michael Schaus

Michael Schaus is a talk radio host, political humorist, and columnist. Having worked in a wide range of industries (including construction, journalism, and financial services) his perspectives and world views are forged with a deep understanding of what it means to be an American entrepreneur.

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