CBS along with GfK’s Knowledge Panel interviewed a cross section of people after the February 13 Republican debate and 32 percent of those who watched the debate felt that Marco Rubio won. Further down on the list are Ted Cruz (12 percent), Ben Carson (8 percent), and Jeb Bush (5 percent).
Advertisement
In Nielsen’s metered-markets, the Republican presidential primary debate averaged a 9.3 overnight household rating – matching last week’s score for a GOP debate on ABC.
The next GOP debate will be televised by CNN on February 25.
Interest in the debate was also likely heightened by the late afternoon news coverage on the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
But when it comes to the candidate who is best prepared to be President, Republicans and independent debate watchers choose John Kasich first (22 percent), just edging out Donald Trump (20 percent) by two points.
The broad Republican field has narrowed to six candidates, led by Trump.
While Marco Rubio may be the clear victor on the CBS News, other polls seem to have a completely different story. “Face the Nation” anchor John Dickerson was as much a referee as a moderator.
“At some moments he threw himself into the middle of the storm, riding the current and challenging the candidates, said Gold, who called the debate both memorable and exciting”. The 2-hour debate peaked between 10:00-10:30 p.m. ET, with 14.63 million viewers.
Despite all the hype for this CBS News debate, one Republican debate back in January, wasn’t so well received.
Advertisement
The audience topped the 13.18 million viewers who watched the February 6 debate on ABC, which was also a raucous affair.
