As Republican presidential hopefuls begin to descend on outposts such as Ames, Iowa, and Nashua, New Hampshire, and the 2012 GOP primary season begins to heat up, OhMyGov will be checking on the leading Republican candidates and the ways they are using (or misusing) social media to reach out to potential voters. Collectively, the field already boasts a respectable social media following, thanks to offices currently or previously held, prominent national campaigns, and no shortage of media exposure and part-time punditry. This running start will help counter the sizable bump that the sitting president will get from the White House social media pulpit, when the time comes to face off in the general election.    

Here is a quick rundown of the eight leading GOP candidates --- well, potential candidates as of today --- who are active on social media and what they have been up to on Facebook and Twitter:

Haley Barbour

Twitter: @HaleyBarbour

Facebook: www.facebook.com/haleybarbour

The Mississippi Governor has a fairly healthy social media presence, with over 17,000 Facebook fans and 12,503 Twitter followers. Barbour's Facebook page mostly focuses around his exploits as Governor with links to recent speeches and public appearances. Meanwhile, Barbour's Twitter feed, which has steadily if slowly gained followers as he has been talked up as potential candidate, is a pretty standard stream of media appearance updates and a place to test out conservative talking points about lower taxes and gay marriage. Barbour has only tweeted about 300 times, and it doesn't appear that he'll be breaking any records for followers or mentions anytime soon.

Mitch Daniels

Twitter: @MyManMitch

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MyManMitchFans

Now Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana is a guy who knows what he's doing when it comes to social media. Daniels' Facebook page features everything from videos of speeches at the Conservative Political Action Conference to updates on his recent shoulder surgery. Unfortunately Daniels' Twitter feed doesn't quite live up to the uniqueness of his Facebook page, as it appears to merely be a series of updates on Daniels' media appearances and maintained by his staff. Daniels doesn't seem to be apprehensive about being an outgoing social media figure, so it does seem a bit curious that his Twitter feed seems to skew towards the bland. But with over 5,500 followers and around 500 tweets, the Governor isn't exactly ignoring the 140-characters-or-less crowd either.

Newt Gingrich

Twitter: @newtgingrich

Facebook: www.facebook.com/newtgingrich

While he might have some issues getting people to take him seriously as Presidential timber, Gingrich is an undeniably heavy hitter in the world of conservative social media. With over 118,000 Facebook fans and 1.3 million Twitter followers, when Gingrich types...the right wing notices. The former Speaker's Facebook page features promotional material for his latest book, constantly updated video and public appearance schedules, and something called "Newt Chatter," which this writer will not even attempt to define. As for Gingrich's Twitter page, it seems to be another depository for Gingrich's seemingly endless musings on everything from abortion to health care in addition to the expected dispatches for media appearances and book signings. Not only does Gingrich maintain his own twitter, but for those who can't get enough of life on Planet Newt there are also official feeds maintained by his wife Callista and his newly-minted 2012 exploratory committee. And with over a million followers and over 2,200 tweets under his belt, Gingrich shows no signs of slowing down as a Republican social media force for 2012 and beyond as evidenced by the fact that since the beginning of March he has picked up a whopping 6,000+ Twitter followers.

Mike Huckabee

Twitter: @GovMikeHuckabee

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mikehuckabee

The former Arkansas Governor and current Fox News personality maintains a respectable social media presence with over 133,000 Twitter followers and nearly 540,000 Facebook fans. Both pages seem to focus on The Huck's promotional tour for his latest book, "A Simple Government," and stick to book signing announcements and media appearances. Huckabee, or at least an enterprising member of his staff, is not shy about posting the requisite on-the-road tweets with nearly 1,600 to his credit (including this absolutely awesome one). While recent controversial comments from Huckabee taking swipes at everyone from President Obama to Natalie Portman may have drawn the ire of some on the left, Huckabee's brand of southern-fried conservatism does seem to have its fans as evidenced by the roughly 6,700 Twitter followers he has gained in March.

Sarah Palin

Twitter: @SarahPalinUSA

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahpalin

What can we say that hasn't already been said about the Mama Grizzly of the Red State netroots. Palin has caught some heat for her Twitter exploits in the past, and many of her 800+ tweets focus on everything from Todd Palin's latest dog race (seriously) to some "unique" takes on the recent developments in Egypt, to whatever this is supposed to be. Palin seems to show no signs of slowing down when it comes to adding Twitter followers either, with a net gain of over 22,000 over the first two and a half weeks of March. Love her or hate her, people can't seem to get enough of Palin. It is on Facebook however that Sarah Barracuda really shines. Over 2.7 million fans, the infamous videos, and the notes...oh those notes! Whatever you think of Palin, her Facebook page is not just an outlet for her views and beliefs, it is a pop culture phenomenon all its own.

Tim Pawlenty

Twitter: @timpawlenty

Facebook: www.facebook.com/timpawlenty

The former Minnesota Governor has been touted for some time as a potential Republican nominee for 2012, and with over 27,000 Twitter followers and over 73,000 Facebook fans it is clear that some have begun to take notice of the Tea Party dark horse. Pawlenty's Facebook page is a consistently updated stream of videos and links to make donations to his PAC which is already on the ground in New Hampshire. It is a solid Facebook presence, but Pawlenty might want to reconsider using a photo of embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker as his profile picture (as he had done up until recently), when you aren't exactly a household name you might want people to actually, ya know, see your face. Pawlenty's Twitter page, from which he's tweeted around 459 times, is mostly focused on announcing public appearances and, again, expressing support for Scott Walker. Again, Governor, friendly words of advice, in politics its acceptable to talk about yourself every once in a while.

Mitt Romney

Twitter: @MittRomney

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mittromney

The presumptive GOP favorite for 2012 boasts a healthy (and growing) 815,000 Facebook fans and 30,000 Twitter followers; with net gains of roughly 16,000 Facebook fans and 2,000 Twitter followers in March. The former Massachusetts Governor's Facebook page is a predictably slick operation, with a welcome video, donation portal, and links to live streaming speeches and events. Romney is not quite as strong a presence on Twitter, where many of his 360+ tweets are links to OpEd's he has written and the occasional TwitPic of things like this. Either way, for this stage of the primary game Romney appears to have laid a strong social media foundation to build upon in the coming year.

Rick Santorum

Twitter: @RickSantorum

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RickSantorum

The former Pennsylvania Senator keeps a fairly low social media profile, with around 5,600 Twitter followers and 13,260 Facebook fans. And yet, despite the relatively low number of followers Santorum has maintained fairly active pages on both platforms. Santorum's Facebook page features links to his writings, updates on his public appearance schedule, and a portal to sign-up for e-mail updates from his PAC. Meanwhile over at Santorum's Twitter feed, most of the former Senator's 670+ tweets are announcements of his media appearances and speaking engagements. Pretty standard stuff, maybe it could use a little spicing up with one of his admittedly awesome campaign ads from a few years back.

Photo Credit for Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum: Gage Skidmore