The large field of 2016 GOP Candidates - split for two debates by tiers - image insider fox news Last night’s back to back GOP 2016 Primary debate hosted by Fox News is Cleveland, OH, with 17 candidates vying for the spotlight, appears to have had, at first glimpse of the headlines, a net zero effect on the candidates, however, the most positive or negative reactions go to the network itself, with the majority of commentators either praising or debasing the network. That leads to the theory that this debate may have been the largest audience for a primary debate in the history of televised debates. Obviously time will tell, as the ratings are not yet available, however with the hype surrounding many of the key players, such as Donald Trump, but all news organizations, and the number of people watching just for Trump, makes that scenario likely. See: CNN Opinions on who won the GOP Debate
New York’s CBS
Time
Tucson News Now (one of my local where to watch to GOP Debate
On the Candidates there are a variety of opinions as to who won or lost in the debate, and front a general consensus of the 13,200,000 available on Google News as of 5:32 AM EST 8/7/15 it could be any one of the seventeen GOP Candidates who were either in the first or second debate.
Donald Trump was the prime draw for the majority of viewers, based on comments either positive or negative and possibly of the plurality of coverage of the debate itself. In this humble opinion, there were no clear winners or losers, with only personal preference needles moved slightly. The Drudgereport poll results indicate that Trump was the clear winner, with Cruz in second place and Carson in third, however, as with all internet polls, there are opportunities for campaign operatives to help on a large scale to get their candidate over the top in, what is the largest news aggregator on the net(Drudge Report)
The only candidate to truly stand out as lackluster from the perspective of this Libertarian leaning independent from MA was Gov. Jeb Bush. The balance delivered as expected, with the time constraints and the unusually large field. What might be missing in all of the hype is the huge service Donald Trump has performed for the GOP in general – without his presence causing such a national firestorm (and international given the coverage by the BBC and other world outlets – viewers tuning in to watch Trump only may have learned about the other candidates and conservative viewpoints, counting as new votes cast in the primaries and caucuses let alone the general election, regardless of who the nominee may be. Personal favorites, Cruz, Fiorina, Carson and yes, Rand Paul and Donald Trump – go figure.
