Social Network - Twitter

Photo: Newscom

It took some time for politicians to warm up to social media platforms like Twitter, but these days, they are using it like old pros—especially Republicans.

A new report out from The Washington Post shows that Republican House Members have about 13 percent more followers on Twitter than Democrats and the gap widens to 17.9 percent in the Senate.

In total, congressional Republicans have 7.2 million followers, while Democrats have 5.5 million.

The report also shows that 7 out of 10 of the most-followed lawmakers are Republicans, including Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Marco Rubio (Fla), Ted Cruz (Texas) and House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio).

According to a 2013 report in New York Magazine, The Heritage Foundation is followed by over 70 percent of Republican members of Congress on Twitter—a number that is higher today.

Both parties still have four members who don’t have Twitter accounts.