Google search shows Kiwi interest in US election

Otago residents googled Republican nominee Donald Trump the most. Photo / AP

Wellington has felt the Bern while interest in Donald Trump is particularly strong in Otago, according to search information released by Google ahead of "Super Tuesday".

The contests on Tuesday in the United States, across 12 states, will be decisive in determining who will face-off for the White House.

And New Zealanders interest in one of the most compelling US presidential races is ramping up, with Google searches for "US election" tripling in the past month.

Analysis of search data from the company over the past 12 months has also shown what regions are most interested in each candidate.

Google does not release search volumes because of commercial sensitivity, but its "trends" analysis assigns a score up to 100 based on how often something is searched for, relative to all other searches.

Wellingtonians search interest in Democratic contender Bernie Sanders was well above other regions, with Aucklanders showing the highest interest about his rival and Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.

Otago residents googled Republican nominee Donald Trump the most -- although New Zealanders across the country have shown most interest in Trump's campaign, which has dominated media coverage and propelled him towards the nomination as a GOP outsider.

Nationally, New Zealanders searched for Trump about three times more than Clinton or Sanders.

On "Super Tuesday", a total of 595 Republican delegates are up for grabs of the 1237 needed to clinch the GOP nomination. Sanders and Clinton are facing off for 865 of the 2383 delegates needed to win the Democratic race.