16 People to Follow on Twitter During the Final Presidential Debate

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Before you settle down for the third, and final, presidential debate Monday night between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, there are a number of people who you should follow on Twitter for smart, humorous and factual comments in real time.

TheStreet has compiled a list of the top handles to follow on the social media site for the 90-minute event.

During the second presidential debate, moderator Candy Crowley offered an immediate fact check of a claim that the president had not immediately referred to the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi as an act of terror. Had she not, you would have received the facts of the exchange if you had been following the group below.

But beyond real-time fact-checking during the debate, this solid foundation of Twitter voices will give you accurate and timely information to get through the remainder of the election season.

This list is by no means comprehensive, so feel free to suggest other Twitter handles in the comment section below.

Um hey remember when we predicted there would be fewer personal attacks because they are onstage together this way?— maggie haberman (@maggiepolitico) October 17, 2012

@maggiepolitico at Politico is a veteran reporter who is a breaking news machine. She provides exceptional analysis and top shoe-leather reporting.

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This is a ridiculous picture of the spin room action starting before the debate is even over > yfrog.com/obepxlxfj— Peter Hamby (@PeterHambyCNN) October 17, 2012

@PeterHambyCNN covers politics for CNN and instantly provides concise analysis without cluttering up your timeline. He's an excellent source for breaking news -- as he is many times the breaker of it.

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Is Romney chasing Obama around the stage?— Reid Epstein (@reidepstein) October 17, 2012

@reidepstein covers the White House for Politico. His day job is following around the President of the United States, and he mixes some humor into his reporting.

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Obama's recovery is obscuring the fact that Romney is very effectively hitting the stuff that's been working for him re: Obama's failures.— daveweigel (@daveweigel) October 17, 2012

Slate's @daveweigel blogs and reports about politics, and rarely seems to sleep. He doesn't hesitate to call out Democrats and Republicans, and has expressed support for Rep. Ron Paul.

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And the Obama surrogates are first into the spin room with a dramatic walk-in— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 17, 2012

@ZekeJMiller covers the election for BuzzFeed and is an absolute must-follow for by-the-second updates on the debates.

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Asked about misconceptions about him, Romney says, "I care about 100 percent of the people...I care about our kids."— Matt Viser (@mviser) October 17, 2012

@mviser covers politics for The Boston Globe. Follow him for a daily pulse on Mitt Romney's campaign and a host of other election news.

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dear lord, the bigger issue is the intelligence failures leading up to the attack not how quick it was labeled terrorism— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) October 17, 2012

The Huffington Post's @samsteinhp covers the White House and provides great original election content. He is quick to call out misleading comments during the debates.

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For a second there it was like Romney was going to give Obama investment advice.— Ginger Gibson (@GingerGibson) October 17, 2012

Politico's @GingerGibson follows the Romney campaign. Her clever tweets will surely amuse you. I mean, just look at the one above.

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First debate got lots of voters to open their minds to kinder, gentler Romney. This one may have turned a lot of them back off him.— Molly Ball (@mollyesque) October 17, 2012

@mollyesque provides long-form reporting for The Atlantic. She should entertain you with some sarcastic tweeting.

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Things Mitt Romney has never said out loud, but has implied thousands of times over: "President Bush and I are different people."— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) October 17, 2012

@kasie for The Associated Press gives you straight news without too much color. This is a person you should follow for a classic basket of reporting. She also aggregates tweets from other brilliant reporters.

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Obama promised at the last town hall debate to create 5 million green jobs. youtube.com/watch?v=r-u2v0...— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) October 17, 2012

Few people can fact check in real time by backing it up with CSPAN videos from the past two or three decades. BuzzFeed's @BuzzFeedAndrew is celebrated for his video research. He also loves cats.

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Obama on Libya: "I am ultimately responsible for what's taking place there because these are my folks." #hofdebate— Sarah Huisenga (@SarahH_CBSNJ) October 17, 2012

@SarahH_CBSNJ, who covers the Romney campaign for National Journal and CBS News, during the debate will give you a steady stream of notable quotations from the two candidates. If you step away from the television for a moment, just scroll back through her feed.

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Remember that debates are about moments: Romney Libya swing and a miss is a moment. #debates— The Fix (@TheFix) October 17, 2012

@TheFix blogs and reports for The Washington Post. He producers exceptional analysis, and loves to ask for his followers' opinions throughout the debates.

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Twitter surpassed 3.5 million tweets about the 2nd presidential debate about a half-hour into it, more tweets than VP debate. #debates— Matthew Keys (@ProducerMatthew) October 17, 2012

@ProducerMatthew is a social media maestro for Reuters. Throughout the debate he will provide you with a load of interesting links and topical factoids.

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It's as if the Romney from the first debate is tied up in a Scooby-Doo warehouse somewhere. #debate— Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) October 17, 2012

@BorowitzReport writes humorous articles for The New Yorker, but you probably won't love him if you're sensitive to mostly Romney jokes.

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If I hear someone say "scientific poll" about something done 2 minutes after an event again, I will seriously punch someone. #debates— Callie Schweitzer (@cschweitz) October 17, 2012

@cschweitz for Vox Media tweets about pretty much everything and often. She is a Twitter buff who takes a lighter approach to politics that non-political junkies will almost certainly appreciate.

-- Written by Joe Deaux in New York.

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