Topics and participation in the FNC Republican debate (January 2016)
 Date: November 8, 2016 |
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This article analyzes the central themes of the Republican presidential debate held on January 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. The transcript prepared by The Washington Post was used to measure candidate participation and audience engagement.[1] Footage from the debate was consulted where there were ambiguities in the text.
To compare the statistics of this debate to those of the previous Republican debate, see the analysis of the FBN Republican debate in January 2016.
Segments
The seventh Republican presidential debate featured 29 unique discussion segments covering domestic and foreign policy and political issues like electability and experience. These discussion segments were measured by any shift in the theme of a discussion prompted by one of the moderators: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace. The candidates also fielded several questions from YouTube personalities.
- Donald Trump
- Anti-establishment sentiment and the Republican Party
- Bipartisanship
- Rand Paul and the Liberty Movement
- Practical government experience
- Ted Cruz's record and national security
- Qualifications to be commander-in-chief and national security
- Counterrorism, Muslims and discrimination
- Veterans charity fraud
- Police body cameras
- Reducing the federal budget
- Healthcare reform
- Puerto Rican statehood
- Water crisis in Flint, Michigan
- Climate change and cap-and-trade
- Immigration reform and amnesty
- Legal immigration and discrimination
- Electability
- Christianity and anti-poverty policies
- Religious liberty and same-sex marriage
- Chris Christie's record
- Federal vs. state regulation of abortion
- U.S.-Russia relations
- Iran nuclear deal
- Military intervention in Libya
- Hillary and Bill Clinton
- Tolerance in the U.S.
- Renewable Fuel Standard
- Closing statements
Including the discussion segment dedicated to Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, the Clintons were invoked 30 times throughout the debate. Donald Trump, who declined to attend the debate, was also frequently mentioned, for a total of 12 times.
Overall participation
Participation in a discussion segment was defined as a substantive comment related to the discussion segment's topic. Jokes and attempts to gain permission from a moderator to speak were not considered participatory speech acts. In some instances, candidates who participated in a discussion segment diverted from the prompted topic.
The median number of discussion segments was nine. Marco Rubio participated in the most discussion segments at 12, while Ben Carson and John Kasich each participated in only six.
More than half of the discussion segments, such as those relating to the use of police body cameras, Puerto Rican statehood, and the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, involved only one candidate. Excluding the candidates' closing statements, the discussion segments with the most candidate engagement covered national security and counterterrorism.
Candidate participation by behavior
Participation in the debate was also measured by the candidate's behavior at the start of each discussion segment. This study considered whether a candidate was initially prompted by a moderator to speak during a discussion segment or whether he or she independently engaged in the discussion segment by interrupting another candidate or calling on the moderator for permission to speak. A candidate's conduct after they joined a discussion segment was not considered.
Although the candidates seldom interjected themselves into a discussion segment in this debate, there was a notable exchange between Ted Cruz and moderator Chris Wallace on whether Cruz should be granted rebuttal time because his name was invoked in a question. When Cruz pointed this out, Wallace responded, "It's not my question that you get a chance to respond to, it's his answer."
Cruz said shortly after, "I would note that that the last four questions have been, 'Rand, please attack Ted. Marco, please attack Ted. Chris, please attack Ted. Jeb, please attack Ted.'" Throughout the debate, the moderators asked the other candidates five questions relating to Cruz's record or statements.
Candidate participation by speaking time
According to speaking time estimates from NPR, Rubio and Cruz each spoke for more than 13 minutes.[2] Carson spoke least, logging only 6.2 minutes.
Candidate participation by speaking rate
Each candidate's speaking rate was calculated by dividing the total word count of the candidate's speech during the debate with his speaking time as measured by NPR. As in previous debates, Rubio spoke at the fastest rate. With the exception of Carson, who decreased his speaking rate by nearly 20 words per minute, every candidate increased his speaking rate since the previous debate.
Candidate participation by segment vs. speaking time
The amount of time a candidate spoke did not necessarily align with the number of issues he or she covered during the debate. For example, although Cruz spoke approximately four minutes longer than Bush and Christie did, all three candidates participated in the same number of discussion segments.
Audience engagement
Audience engagement was measured by noting applause, cheering, or laughter in The Washington Post's transcript. Footage from the debate was consulted when the text was ambiguous about to whom the audience was responding.
With 22 and 21 instances of positive audience engagement, respectively, Rubio and Cruz had the strongest response from the crowd. Nearly one-fifth of the total audience engagement in the debate occurred during the two discussion segments on immigration-related issues.
Candidate speech analysis
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See also
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Presidential election, 2016/Polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards
- Presidential election, 2016/Straw polls
Footnotes
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