Eighth Republican Party presidential debate, February 2016 in Goffstown, New Hampshire
| Candidate | Airtime[1] | Polls[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Trump | 15:32 | 33.2% |
| Cruz | 17:34 | 20.7% |
| Rubio | 18:14 | 13.3% |
| Carson | 8:46 | 7.8% |
| Bush | 12:30 | 4.5% |
| Christie | 12:53 | 3.0% |
| Kasich | 10:33 | 2.8% |
The Republican Party's eighth presidential debate ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election was held on February 6, 2016 at the Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Organized by ABC News and the Independent Journal Review, the debate was scheduled to be held in the St Anselm's College Institute of Politics.[3] The eighth debate was the first to not feature an undercard event for minor candidates.[4] David Muir and Martha Raddatz were moderaters, along with WMUR political director Josh McElveen and Mary Katherine Ham.[5]
To participate in the debate, a candidate had to have either placed among the top three candidates in the popular vote of the Iowa caucus, or placed among the top six candidates in an average of New Hampshire or national polls recognized by ABC News. Only polls conducted no earlier than January 1 and released by February 4 were included in the averages.[6]
On February 4, 2016, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump were invited to the debate.[7] Carly Fiorina and Jim Gilmore were not invited as they did not meet the criteria.[8]
The introduction of the candidates caused several mishaps, including Carson missing his introduction and Kasich's introduction being skipped by the announcers.[9] During the debate, Rubio – who was perceived as gaining significant momentum after a close third-place finish in Iowa – faced attacks from Bush and particularly Christie, who criticized Rubio for repeating popular talking points rather than debating specifics. Rubio's poor response to Christie's criticisms led many to consider Rubio as the loser of the debate, with most of his post-Iowa momentum severely blunted by the performance. Conversely, Cruz faced attacks from Carson over allegations that Cruz's campaign, on the night of the Iowa caucuses, was spreading rumors that Carson had already dropped out of the race, so as to switch Carson voters to Cruz. There was also another clash between Trump and Bush over the issue of eminent domain, to the point where Trump was booed by the audience, and subsequently accused the audience of consisting mostly of Bush's donors and supporters.[10]
Despite Christie's perceived strong performance, this would ultimately be his final debate appearance, as the governor suspended his campaign four days later, after finishing 6th in New Hampshire.[11]
References
- ↑ Sprunt, Barbara. "On The Clock: Rubio Gets The Most Talking Time In Tonight's Debate". NPR.org. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ↑ "RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination".
- ↑ "Scheduled Presidential Candidate Visits & Other Forums - LWV of New Hampshire". lwvnh.org. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ↑ Kamisar, Ben (January 26, 2016). "Rand Paul makes main debate stage". The Hill. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ↑ Anthony, Bennett (February 3, 2016). "When Is the Next GOP Debate?". Heavy.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- ↑ ABC News (January 27, 2016). "ABC News Announces Criteria For New Hampshire Republican Debate". ABC News. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ↑ "ABC News Announces New Hampshire Republican Debate Candidate Lineup". ABC News. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- ↑ Kamisar, Ben (February 4, 2016). "Carly Fiorina misses debate stage". The Hill. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- ↑ "Carson misses his intro at debate, stands awkwardly off stage". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ Danielle Kurtzleben (February 6, 2016). "Republican Debate: 5 Things You Missed". NPR.
- ↑ "Chris Christie to suspend presidential campaign". Washington Times. Retrieved February 10, 2016.