Schatz has nearly 400,000 followers on Twitter. Progressive power users like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — with 15.5 million followers — and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — with 12.9 million — haven’t spoken about whether Musk’s takeover will change their approach to Twitter. Neither has Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), with 5.8 million followers, who denounced Musk’s purchase as “dangerous for our democracy.”

A number of political strategists said Twitter is an important way to reach voters, and that they’ll be advising clients to keep their accounts up.

“If voters are trafficking Twitter, it would behoove candidates to be able to communicate with them directly where they’re at,” said Mark Jablonowski, a managing partner at DSPolitical, a digital ad firm that supports Democratic candidates.

Still, strategists said most politicians look to other social media sites like Instagram and Facebook — which have larger user bases — to directly reach more voters.