Of note: The NBC debate will be co-sponsored by Telemundo and will be held in Florida in February 2016, shortly before the primary. If Jeb Bush is still in the race by then, that’s his time to shine. Lotttt of pressure on McConnell and Boehner, meanwhile, to do something on immigration reform by then so that the remaining GOP candidates have something to tout to Latino voters tuning in.
If this seems like conspicuously fewer debates than we’re used to after the last two presidential cycles, that’s because it is. And there’s a reason for it.
1. Fox News, August 2015, OhioThere were 20(!) primary debates in 2012 and 23(!!) in 2008. Why nine this time? Well, the number could rise to 12: Per WaPo, the RNC’s already considering three more, one on Fox News in March 2016, another on CNN the same month, and a “conservative media debate” at some point. They’re hoping the race will be over by the time of those first two debates but the third seems likely, if only to appease the party’s base. There are also bound to be some debates held that aren’t sanctioned by the RNC, like, say, a “tea party debate.” The RNC considered passing a rule last year that would disqualify a candidate from all RNC-sanctioned debates if he agreed to participate in an unsanctioned one, but I haven’t heard anything about that rule today. And no wonder: Imagine the venom aimed at the party’s establishment if Ted Cruz or Rand Paul took part in a “tea party debate” and then got kicked offstage at the big RNC debate right before Iowa. The Committee may hate its base but it can’t be too obvious in showing it.
2. CNN, September 2015, California
3. CNBC, October 2015, Colorado
4. Fox Business, November 2015, Wisconsin
5. CNN, December 2015, Nevada
6. Fox News, January 2016, Iowa
7. ABC News, February 2016, New Hampshire
8. CBS News, February 2016, South Carolina
9. NBC/Telemundo, February 2016, Florida
