11 Million Viewers Tune In for First Republican Primary Debate of 2020 Cycle

The first Republican presidential primary debate of the 2020 cycle was held in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, and it attracted 11 million viewers on Fox News, according to Nielsen ratings data. This figure is lower than the average viewership for the GOP debates in 2015 and 2016, the last time there was a competitive primary. During that cycle, the GOP primary debates attracted an average of 15.4 million viewers on the main broadcasts.

In the days leading up to the debate, candidates scrambled to reach the Republican National Committee’s thresholds to make the stage, and a mad dash for donors and a flurry of last-minute polls marked the days leading up to the event.

The average viewership for Democratic debates in the 2020 cycle was 11.5 million viewers, compared to 8 million viewers in 2015 and 2016. A Fox spokesperson said the total rose to 12.8 million when broadcasts on Fox Business Network and the company’s streaming platforms are included.

The viewership of the first Republican primary debate of the 2020 cycle is an indication of the level of interest in the upcoming election. With the race for the White House heating up, it will be interesting to see how the viewership of the debates changes as the election draws closer.