Who Got the Most, and Least, Talking Time in Debate

The first debate of the 2024 campaign is in the books, and the assessments will be pouring in over the next 24 hours. One aspect of the debate, however, is indisputable: the amount of talking time each candidate got. By this measure, former VP Mike Pence finished first by quite a bit, with Vivek Ramaswamy a strong second:

1. Mike Pence, 12:37
2. Vivek Ramaswamy, 11:47
3. Chris Christie, 11:22
4. Ron DeSantis, 10:22
5. Nikki Haley, 8:41
6. Tim Scott, 8:15
7. Doug Burgum, 8:00
8. Asa Hutchinson, 7:33

The above times were logged by the New York Times. CNN has the same order, though the times vary slightly, by matters of seconds. Ramaswamy may be the biggest surprise, and his big number is partly a sign of how much his rivals went after him. He sparred in particular with Pence and Christie. Both called him too politically inexperienced for the job of president, while the 38-year-old called that an attribute. His strong support of Donald Trump during the debate went over well with the audience. (More Republican debate stories.)