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Theres no arguing with the fact that social media played a major role in Obamas 2008 presidential victory. While the McCain campaign relied on traditional voter mobilization methods, the Obama team was able to leverage an unprecedented social networking campaign in order to engage with younger demographics and ultimately clinch the win.

Its clear that the 2012 Republican primary candidates took these lessons to heart, as social media involvement has never been higher during an election cycle. To understand more about the evolution of social networking participation within the electoral process, lets take a look at how each of the current Republican primary candidates is using these user-driven sites to advance his own agenda:

Current Position: As the presumed Republican candidacy front-runner and one of the wealthiest politicians ever to seek the nations highest office, its safe to extrapolate that social media isnt as high on Romneys to do list as it is for the other candidates in this race.

Thats not to say that social media doesnt matter to the Romney campaign and, truly, his active presence on Facebook and Twitter indicates that his team takes these opportunities seriously. However, with the amount of mainstream media coverage Romney already receives, focusing on social networking as a top priority simply isnt necessary as it is for Rick Santorum or Ron Paul.

Future Challenges: As the likely Republican candidate in the 2012 general election, Romney must focus less on what his current primary challengers are doing and more on how President Obama is using social media effectively in his campaign. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, the President is also active on Google+ and Tumblr both territories that Romney has not yet ventured into in a significant way.

As the general election draws closer, it seems likely that well see Romney either enter into these new arenas or engage on the traditional social networking sites at a higher level in order to court undecided voters.

Current Position: As Rick Santorum has gained momentum within the primary race, following his largely-symbolic victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado on February 8th, the social networking buzz surrounding this Religious Right candidate has grown as well.

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How the 2012 Republican Primary Candidates are Using Social Media