POLITICS: GOP as Family Men, Poll Gender Divide, and Prepping for Palmetto Politics

Two down, about 54 to go. (Oh yes, besides the 50 states, there are Puerto Rico, American Samoas, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The Mitt Romney first-place finish at New Hampshire surprised few, and Ron Paul's endurance harks back to 2008, where he also showed strong online appeal:

Top GOP Candidate searches on Yahoo!, Jan. 10

1. Ron Paul

2. Mitt Romney

3. Jon Huntsman

4. Rick Santorum

5. Newt Gingrich

6. Rick Perry

Third-place finish for Jon Huntsman, however, was not so much a surprise but overdue recognition for the former Utah governor - given the musical chairs of GOP candidates in the limelight. Indeed, you know you're viable when people start taking a close look at your family.

That's right: Searches for "jon huntsman daughters" -- who have been singing their father's praises for some time - gallivanted up 248%. Not only that, despite being outnumbered, they've attracted more than double the online queries as "mitt romney sons."

Most Popular GOP Candidate Family searches on Yahoo!, Jan. 10

• Jon Huntsman Daughters

• George Romney (deceased father of Mitt/politician)

• Mitt Romney Sons

• Mitt Romney Family

• Ann Romney

• Mary Kaye Huntsman

• Jon Huntsman Sr.

• Jon Huntsman Family

• Calista Gingrich

• Rand Paul

Interesting GOP candidate spikes:

• Jon Huntsman Daughters (+245%)

• Buddy Roemer 2012 Election (+128%)

• George Romney (+55%)

• Jon Huntsman Billionaire (breakout)

• Mitt Romney Mexican Heritage (breakout)

• How Old is Ron Paul? (breakout)

• How Old is Mitt Romney? (breakout)

• Bain Capital, Mitt Romney Bain Capital (breakout)

• John Huntsman Billionaire (breakout) -- with misspelling

He Polled, She Polled
One intriguing factoid: On the day of the New Hampshire primaries, 13% of searches for "republican polls" hailed from male teens. Either they're aspiring wonks, or they're doing their homework.

Even more compelling, males in general pay more online attention to polls, then females do. The breakdown of poll searches on Yahoo! on New Hampshire primary day:

• "Republican Polls": 69% male, 31% female. Leading 3 states checking out republican polls are Utah, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.

• "Presidential Polls": 73% male, 27% female (not as interesting to teens, curiously). Leading 3 states checking out presidential polls are Michigan, California, and Texas.

• "New Hampshire Polls": 74% male, 26% female

• "Rasmussen Polls": 77% male, 23% female

• "South Carolina polls 2012": 79% male, 21% female

• "Polls": 50% male, 50% female. (Polls aren't necessarily political)

Prepping for Palmetto Politics
South Carolina's next on the political road trip, and people are asking "when is the south carolina primary 2012" (that would be Jan. 21). Collective searches for that primary are up more than 1,000%, and number in the top 5,000 terms on Yahoo!. Looking ahead, "2012 Florida Primary" on Jan. 31 is only among the top 50,000 searches, but is accelerating.

As for which areas were already looking into South Carolina on New Hampshire's primary day:

Top 10 Regions searching "South Carolina Primary 2012," Jan. 10

1. Salt Lake City

2. Greenville-Spartan-Asheville (South Carolina)

3. Charlotte

4. Phoenix

5. Los Angeles

6. Chicago

7. Dallas-Fort Worth

8. New York

9. Houston

10. Denver

Top 10 States searching "South Carolina Primary 2012," Jan. 10

1. Utah

2. South Carolina

3. Arizona

4. North Carolina

5. Illinois

6. New Jersey

7. Colorado

8. Florida

9. Virginia

10. Texas