The first political debate before the

2008 Republican primaries From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Republican Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator John McCain of Arizona was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections ...

was held on May 3, 2007, at the

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the presidential library and burial site of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States (1981–1989), and his wife Nancy Reagan. Located in Simi Valley, California, the library is administere ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Other debates have taken place in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. They were generally broadcast by television networks. The debates can have a substantial effect on the primaries and are important chances for the public to compare the candidates side-by-side.

Candidates in the debates

* Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

– Arizona (won nomination). * Representative

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

– Texas (withdrew June 12, 2008). * Former UN Ambassador

Alan Keyes Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political scientist, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Republican P ...

– Maryland (withdrew from Republican Party April 15, 2008). * Former Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

– Arkansas (withdrew March 4, 2008). * Former Governor

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

– Massachusetts (withdrew February 7, 2008). * Former Mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

– New York (withdrew January 30, 2008). * Former Senator

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

– Tennessee (withdrew January 22, 2008). * Representative Duncan Hunter – California (withdrew January 19, 2008). * Representative

Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...

– Colorado (withdrew December 19, 2007). * Senator

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...

– Kansas (withdrew October 19, 2007). * Former Governor

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...

– Wisconsin (withdrew August 12, 2007). * Former Governor

Jim Gilmore James Stuart Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat and former attorney who served as the 68th governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. A member of the Republican Party, Gilmore also chaired the Republican Nation ...

– Virginia (withdrew July 14, 2007).

Attendance

''Key:'' denotes candidate participated in debate; denotes candidate was not invited; denotes candidate absent but was invited; denotes candidate was out of the race. ''Key:'' denotes candidate participated in debate; denotes candidate was not invited; denotes candidate absent but was invited; denotes candidate was out of the race.

The candidate debates

May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California

The first Republican debate was at the

Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater ...

. It was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

live for 90 minutes on

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

and Politico.com. Questions were gathered from Politico readers for the candidates. All declared candidates were present, as Fred Thompson had not yet declared. Former First Lady

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

was present, along with California Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

. The debate was moderated by

anchor

Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...

of '' Hardball'' and ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

s John Harris. Questions were gathered from ''Politico'' readers for the candidates. The candidates presented differing opinions of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, with McCain and Huckabee criticizing Bush's mismanagement of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

while Giuliani and Romney praised Bush, Ron Paul said Bush was a poor conservative. The candidates also presented different opinions on contentious issues such as

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and

stem-cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are Cellular differentiation, undifferentiated or partially differentiated Cell (biology), cells that can change into various types of cells and Cell proliferation, proliferate indefinitely to produce more ...

but were united in calling for further

tax cut A tax cut typically represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. This decreases the revenue of the government and increases the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax rate cuts usually refer ...

s. All candidates opposed a pullout from Iraq except for

, who spoke and voted against the resolution to authorize war on Iraq in 2002 and has been a vocal critic of the war. John McCain answered "yes" when asked whether he believed in

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

. Immediately following, the questioner inquired whether any of the candidates did not believe in evolution, three candidates (Tancredo, Brownback, and Huckabee) raised their hands. McCain then added "I believe in evolution, but I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see a sunset, that the hand of God is there also." Later in the June 5 debate, Brownback and Huckabee elaborated on their position, taking a far more moderate approach.

Pundits A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

Howard Fineman Howard David Fineman (November 17, 1948 – June 11, 2024) was an American journalist and television commentator. In a career that spanned nearly five decades, Fineman covered nine presidential campaigns as a reporter, writer, and analyst. For ...

and

Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host and former politician who is the co-host of ''Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. He previously hosted '' Scarborough Country'' ...

concluded that Romney did the best and maintained his posture by seeming the most energetic in the debate. Eugene Robinson deduced that Romney showed that he has the potential to be a formidable candidate and also answered the most questions in a consistent manner. At the end of the debate, MSNBC's online votes showed

standing out from the other candidates. Ron Paul won "Best one liner," "Who stood out from the pack" "Most convincing debater", and "Who showed the most leadership qualities?" In all four, he had at least 45% of the total vote. Mitt Romney won an online vote taken at ''

The Drudge Report The Drudge Report (stylized in all caps as DRUDGE REPORT) is an American-based news aggregation website founded by Matt Drudge, and run with the help of Charles Hurt and Daniel Halper. The site prior to the 2020 United States presidential e ...

'', with Giuliani and Paul close behind.
CFR Transcript

MSNBC Transcript

Video with Closed Caption

May 15, 2007 - Columbia, South Carolina

The second Republican debate was held on May 15 in Columbia,

at the Koger Center for the Arts at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

. All declared candidates participated. It was broadcast live for 90 minutes on

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

, and simulcast on Fox News Radio affiliates, including the station of the debate,

WVOC WVOC (560 AM broadcasting, AM) – branded ''News Radio 103.5 & 560 WVOC'' – is a commercial radio, commercial Talk radio, news/talk radio station licensed to serve Columbia, South Carolina. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station covers the ...

. The event was moderated by

Brit Hume Alexander Britton Hume (born June 22, 1943), known professionally as Brit Hume, is an American journalist and political commentator. He had a 23-year career with ABC News, where he contributed to '' World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'', ''N ...

, with

Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 60-year care ...

and

Wendell Goler Wendell Goler (July 26, 1949 – March 3, 2020) was the Senior White House and Foreign Affairs correspondent for Fox News Channel, joining the network on its inception in 1996. He retired on December 3, 2014. During his time at the network, he co ...

asking most of the questions. The debate was in three rounds, the first on the

War in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...

, the second on domestic issues, such as

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

, spending and tax cuts. For the last,

proposed a fictional scenario involving terrorism. The candidates had to predict their actions in that situation. Fox News held

text message Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktop computer, des ...

voting by the audience. Ron Paul received the most (33%) with Mike Huckabee second (18%). During the debate,

asserted that American interventionism in the Middle East, from CIA installation of Iranian leaders to the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s, culminating in the ongoing Iraq war, led to anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and to terrorists plotting attacks against America. Rudy Giuliani portrayed Paul as implying that America had justified the 9/11 attacks through its actions and interrupted the proceedings to demand a retraction, which Paul refused. Former head of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

's bin Laden unit,

Michael Scheuer Michael F. Scheuer (pronounced "SHOY-er"), (born 1952) is an American former intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, blogger, author, commentator and former adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and S ...

, congratulated Ron Paul for his comments, calling them "the truth." Others portrayed the exchange as a victory for Giuliani. The fictional

ticking time bomb scenario The ticking time bomb scenario is a thought experiment that has been used in the ethics debate over whether interrogational torture can ever be justified. The scenario can be formulated as follows: Suppose that a person with knowledge of an immi ...

suggested by the moderator was: "Three shopping centers near major U.S. cities have been hit by

suicide bombers A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured. A fourth attack has been averted when the attackers were captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they are being questioned. U.S. intelligence believes that another larger attack is planned and could come at any time."

and

were the only candidates who said they were opposed to the concept of "

enhanced interrogation techniques "Enhanced interrogation techniques" or "enhanced interrogation" was a program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and various components of the U.S. Armed Forces at ...

", a phrase Paul labeled

Orwellian ''Orwellian'' is an adjective which is used to describe a situation, an idea, or a societal condition that 20th-century author George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and ...

newspeak In the dystopian novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984''), by George Orwell, Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate. To meet the ideological requirements of Ingsoc (English Socialism) in O ...

for

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

suggested that the U.S. double the size of facilities holding non-citizen enemy combatants held in places like Guantanamo and deny them access to the protections afforded to American citizens, such as the right of having an attorney. Giuliani said interrogators should use "any method they can think of" and did not exclude water-boarding. Expressing disbelief at the idea of debating "whether or not waterboarding would be a bad thing to do" Tom Tancredo said "I'm looking for

Jack Bauer Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox television series '' 24''. Throughout the majority of the series' running, Bauer serves as a key member of the fictional CTU and other institutions. Bauer's job usually involv ...

drew the biggest laughter of the night when he accused

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

of spending money "like

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

at a beauty shop," a reference to Edwards, who at that time was a 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, spending $800 of campaign money on two haircuts.
CFR Transcript

Entire Debate Video

Video with Closed Caption

June 5, 2007 - Goffstown, New Hampshire

WMUR WMUR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate to most of New Hampshire. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on South Commercial Street in do ...

-TV,

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, and the ''

New Hampshire Union Leader The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Saturdays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.'' Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the ...

'' hosted Democratic and Republican debates at

Saint Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1889, it is named after Saint Anselm of Canterbury. As of 2024, the college's enrollment was 2,094 students. History ...

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is def ...

, part of the

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

urban area. The debate was two hours, without commercials, making it and the

Democratic debate the longest debates in the 2008 season so far. All declared candidates participated, which excluded Fred Thompson.

Wolf Blitzer Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist, television news anchor, and author who has been a CNN reporter since 1990, and who currently serves as one of the principal anchors at the network. He has been a host of ''The ...

of '' The Situation Room'' and '' Late Edition'' on CNN moderated the debate. According to the online CNN.com poll,

received the most votes in all but two categories: "snappiest dresser," who was

, and "most disappointing performance" who was

. The "big three" candidates (Giuliani, McCain, Romney) also received larger shares of air time compared to the "minor candidates." A WBZ-Franklin Pierce College poll showed Romney as the winner of the debate at 22%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 18% and John McCain at 11%. In that poll, none of the other candidates earnered over 3%. Participants in the debate: Sam Brownback, James S. Gilmore, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Tommy Thompson
CFR Transcript

Video with Closed Caption

* ttp://www.youdecide2008.com/video/cnn-republican-debate-from-new-hampshire-6507/ Entire Debate Video

July 12, 2007 - Detroit, Michigan

Attended only by

. All 10 Republican candidates were invited, only Tancredo attended. This was held during the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

98th annual convention. It was hosted by

Russ Mitchell Russell Edward Mitchell (born March 25, 1960) is an American journalist best known for his career at CBS where he was anchor of ''The Early Show'' on Saturday, news anchor for ''The Early Show'' during the week, and weekend anchor of the ''CB ...

.
Webcast from NAACP web site (click on Republican Candidates forum)

August 5, 2007 - Des Moines, Iowa

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

News conducted a

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

, 90-minute debate that aired Sunday morning on a special edition of ''

This Week This Week may refer to: * ''This Week'' (1956 TV programme), a 1956–1992 British current affairs television programme broadcast on ITV * ''This Week'' (2003 TV programme), a weekly British political discussion television programme that aired on ...

'', moderated by

George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos (born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a news presenter, coanchor with Robin Roberts (newscaster), Robin Roberts and M ...

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

. All Republican candidates were present. Mitt Romney defended his change of position on abortion from support of reproductive rights to opposition of legal abortion care.

spoke of pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. The debate concluded with the candidates' revealing their biggest mistakes. Frontrunners

, and

were given more time to speak than were lesser-known candidates, as in previous debates. According to an on-line poll at ABCNews.com, Paul won the debate with 63% of votes. Paul's vote total was nearly eight times as many as runner-up Romney.

Frank Luntz Frank Ian Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political and communications consultant and pollster, best known for developing talking points and other messaging for Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging ...

, a political commentator for

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, asserted that

had won the debate.
CFR Transcript

Entire Debate Video

September 5, 2007 - Durham, New Hampshire

RonPaulSupporters-DurhamNHdebate-5sept07

hosted a Republican debate at The Whittemore Center at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

Durham, New Hampshire Durham is a New England town, town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,490 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,638 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 ...

, for 90 minutes on Fox News. The event was moderated by

, with

and

asking most of the questions. According to a public

text messaging Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktops/laptops, or ...

poll,

won with 33%,

came in second with 18%, followed by

and

who received 15% and 14% respectively. All candidates who were declared participated. The Fox News Luntz

focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number (sometimes up to ten) of demographically predefined participants. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are used in market researc ...

s watching the debate declared disappointment with the performance by

and

, though

was viewed favorably. However, some noted the lack of McCain supporters in the audience.GOP candidates spar on illegal immigration, family values
on The Union Leader website accessed at October 18, 2007. The status of

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, Craig represented Idaho in the United States Senate from 1991 to 2009 and represented Idaho's 1st District in the U.S. House of ...

was discussed in the debate, with

stating that Craig should go through with his decision to resign. An exchange between

and

over the war in Iraq was covered extensively by many news agencies.
CFR Transcript

Entire Debate Video

Video with Closed Caption

September 17, 2007 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The first-ever " Values Voter" Presidential Debate was held for the GOP candidates at the

Broward Center for the Performing Arts The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the "Broward Center," is a multi-venue performing arts complex located in the Sailboat Bend neighborhood of downtown Fort Lauderdale, along the north bank of the New River. Opened in ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. It was broadcast live on television on

Sky Angel Sky Angel was a U.S. operator of Christian television networks; it operated three channels, Angel One, Angel Two, and KTV, all of which were exclusive to Dish Network. The company's corporate headquarters were located in Naples, Florida. The c ...

, and live on many Christian radio stations, including the Voice of Christian Youth America (

VCY America VCY America, Inc. is a traditional, evangelical, conservative Christian ministry based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The VCY America Radio Network maintains a format of Christian talk and teaching, as well as traditional Christian music through its b ...

) network and WKBF-AM, and online on the

American Family Association The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.Brownback,

Huckabee ''Huckabee'' is a television talk show that was hosted by former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee. The program's format was modeled after late-night talk shows, featuring an opening monologue, interviews, and musical performances. The series ...

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

, Tancredo, and newly announced candidate

and

John H. Cox John Herman Cox (né Kaplan; born July 15, 1955) is an American businessman, housing developer, political activist, and perennial candidate. A Republican, he was the party's nominee for Governor of California in 2018, as well as one of the part ...

, a candidate who had then not appeared in any of the other debates. The official Web site reports the immediate

straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial voting, vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order ...

of 340 delegates was won by Huckabee with 219 votes (63%) to Paul 44 (13%), Keyes 22 (7%), Brownback 18 (5%), Fred Thompson 15 (4%), Hunter 4%, Tancredo 2%, Giuliani 1%, McCain 1%, Cox 1%, and Romney 0%. A similar event was planned for the Democratic candidates, but none would confirm their participation.

Full transcript

September 27, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland

Public Broadcasting Service, PBS television hosted a Republican debate in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

that aired live on PBS and on www.pbs.org. Dubbed the "All-American Presidential Forums," it was the first prime time debate with a panel exclusively of journalists of color. Questions were asked by host

Tavis Smiley Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, he worked durin ...

and panelists

Ray Suarez Rafael Suarez, Jr. (born March 5, 1957), known as Ray Suarez, is an American broadcast journalist and author. He is currently host of the PBS series "Wisdom Keepers" set to premiere on the public network in June 2025. He was a visiting professor ...

of The NewsHour, Cynthia Tucker of The

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

, and NPR's

Juan Williams Juan Antonio Williams (born April 10, 1954) is a Panamanian-American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel. He writes for several newspapers, including ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The Wall Street Journ ...

. The six debaters were

, Duncan Hunter, and

. Absent were

, and

, who, according to public opinion surveys, were the leading Republican candidates. The organizers put empty podiums on the stage in place of the candidates who refused to attend. Most of the questions focused on racial issues. For the most part, the candidates agreed with one another about most of the issues discussed. One exception came near the end when Cynthia Tucker asked, "Does the U.S. have a role to play in ending the genocide in Darfur?" All the candidates except Paul answered in the affirmative, though most ruled out using U.S. troops. Huckabee added that we also need to address "the infanticide in our own country, with the slaughter of millions of unborn children." Paul opposed even sending food, and added, "we should direct our attention only to national security, and not get involved for these feel-good reasons of going overseas for the various reasons, and this is the main reason why I think we ought to just come home from every place in the coun-, from every place in the world." Keyes replied, "I have to say I'm appalled by the suggestion that we retreat into some kind of Fortress America, and forget who we are. We are a nation of nations, a people of many peoples. We are in touch with every people on the face of the earth. If somebody's is being hurt somewhere in the world, somebody in America grieves for them. And I don't believe we can turn our backs on that universal significance, that universal mission... We don't have to send troops, but we need to support and reinforce the sense of local regional responsibility for both humanitarian and military order in that region."
Video with Closed Caption

Transcript

October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', and the

University of Michigan–Dearborn The University of Michigan–Dearborn (UM-Dearborn) is a public university in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1959 with a gift from the Ford Motor Company, it was initially known as the Dearborn Center, operating as a remote branc ...

hosted a Republican debate in Dearborn,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. It was co-moderated by

and CNBC's

Maria Bartiromo Maria Sara Bartiromo (born September 11, 1967) is an American conservative journalist and author who has also worked as a financial reporter and news anchor. She is the host of ''Mornings with Maria'' and ''Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street'' on t ...

. The focus of the debate was on the American economy.

, Duncan Hunter,

, participated, along with

in his debate debut. Alan Keyes was not invited. After the debate, Ron Paul won with over 7000 votes, because of which CNBC took take down the page. One highlight of the debate occurred when Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani debated whether the

line-item veto The line-item veto, also called the partial veto, is a special form of veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. Many countries have differen ...

was constitutional or not. Giuliani claimed that it was unconstitutional and challenged former President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on its use, while Romney praised the practice citing that he used it 844 times as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Another highlight in the debate happened when candidates were asked by

if they need to go to Congress to get authorization to take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, if they were president of the United States. While Hunter, Huckabee, McCain, Thompson and Giuliani replied they would not obtain

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

authorization if there was an imminent threat from Iran. Romney replied, "You sit down with your attorneys and (they) tell you what you have to do..." Paul advocated obtaining

authorization, which he claimed is mandated by the

US Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitut ...

. In the end of the debate, Mitt Romney remarked, "This is a lot like 'Law & Order,' senator. It has a huge cast, the series seems to go on forever and Fred Thompson shows up at the end." Romney was making a reference to Fred Thompson's role on

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

. Thompson replied, "And to think I thought I was going to be the best actor on the stage." Critics of the debate have commented on the uneven amount of time given to "second tier" candidates. The debate aired on CNBC and MSNBC.
CFR Transcript

MSNBC Video

October 16, 2007 - Washington, D.C.

The

Republican Jewish Coalition The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), formerly the National Jewish Coalition, founded in 1985, is a political group in the United States that supports Jewish Republicans. The organization has more than 47 chapters throughout the United States. ...

debate at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Independence Ballroom featured five candidates:

, and

. Although

was invited, he did not attend, due to being in California at an event with

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

. RJC Communications Director Shari Hillman wrote that "due to the limited time available for the event, the RJC could only include the top six candidates currently in the field." The

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

reported that sources close to the RJC leadership said that Paul was excluded due to his "record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby".
RJC Forum Webcast

October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida

The

Republican Party of Florida The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Florida. It is currently the state's dominant party, controlling 20 out of 28 of Florida's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the g ...

hosted a two-day event on October 20 and 21 featuring Republican candidates in a debate. Produced with the

, it was moderated by

, and

Carl Cameron Carl Cameron (born September 22, 1961, as Karl Emil Othmar Lamberg-Karlovsky
, Alumni, New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters

. Eight candidates participated.

was not invited. The event was at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel and Resort in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

. The weekend culminated in the nationally televised, prime-time debate. According to Fox News Viewers "text voting" after the debate,

won with 34%,

came in second with 27%, Giuliani third with 11%, Romney 10%, Thompson 9%, McCain 5%,

1% and Tancredo less than 1%. At one point, with the poll showing Ron Paul winning the informal "cell phone" poll,

talk show host

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a radio syndication, nationally syndicated talk radio show, has hosted a Hannity, sel ...

declared, "

did not win the debate tonight." Hannity described the results as "stacking." Paul was the only candidate to be jeered during the debate—both times Paul advocated a non-interventionist foreign policy. Alan Colmes, in the post-debate analysis, stated that Paul drew the most spirited reaction of any candidate, both positive and negative. This Republican debate also revealed that the Republican contenders think America will go

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

if spending policies are not changed. Thompson hit on a theme on which all of the debaters seemed to agree, that out-of-control spending is bankrupting America: "We're spending the money of our grand kids and kids yet to be born", Thompson said. Giuliani accused

of being the "biggest obstacle to tort reform". Giuliani, touting his record as New York City mayor, said, "I brought down crime 60%", and called for school choice. Regarding health care,

said that "managed care isn't working" and that "drug companies

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians * Lobby (food), a thick stew made in Leigh, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire, like ...

for managed care". Paul said, "We could take care of these poor people if we weren't trying to maintain an empire overseas".

hit continued to discuss the issue of military

non-interventionism Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

, "70% of Americans want war over with and are sick and tired of big government at home and overseas". They want their "

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

and not allow government to spend endlessly and bankrupt us". Paul also answered questions related to his experience with

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

and endorsed allowing

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

s for same-sex couples country-wide, with marriage itself handled solely by religious institutions.

defended the "sanctity of human life, it is one of the defining issues of our culture" and on health care promoted "personalization not privatization. We do not have health care system, we have a maze. It's a health care crisis". FOX News Channel and its affiliates moderated and televised the debate.
CFR transcript

Fox News video

October 25, 2007 - Sioux City, Iowa

AARP AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said it had more than 38 ...

and

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...

held their second presidential candidate forum at the Orpheum Theater in

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

. Of the candidates invited, only former Arkansas Governor

and U.S. Senator

attended. The forum was webcast live but was not aired on Public Broadcasting Service, PBS stations across the country as originally planned. Due to the absence of most candidates, the format was changed to "allow Sen. John McCain and Gov. Mike Huckabee to discuss the issues of health and financial security with

Iowa caucus The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are ...

-goers. The format included opening remarks, questions from moderator Dean Borg of

Sioux City Journal The ''Sioux City Journal'' is the daily newspaper and website of Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1864, the publication now covers northwestern Iowa and portions of Nebraska and South Dakota. The Journal has won numerous state, regional and nation ...

readers and those selected in the audience."
AARP video

November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida

This debate is known as the "YouTube" debate.

planned it with a simulcast on

CNN en Español Cable News Network en Español (CNN en Español, stylized as CN͠N) is a Pan-American Spanish-language news channel, owned by CNN Worldwide, a news division for Warner Bros. Discovery. It was launched on pay television, on March 17, 1997. Hi ...

(in the Spanish language). Internet services

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

also participated, allowing them to stream the event live and have clips for future use. Video questions had to be submitted by November 25 to YouTub

According to Nielsen Media Research, the debate drew a record Cable TV audience for a presidential primary debate, an estimated 4.4 million viewers. The debate format permitted audience applause and boos—something that had been uncommon in the debates. Several candidates cited scheduling conflicts with the original date, September 17, 2007, so it was rescheduled. The invited candidates are

, Duncan Hunter,

, and

was not invited. All invited candidates accepted, and all appeared. Thirty-three questions were chosen for the debate, with

Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...

- the moderator - determining which candidates would respond to each question. Giuliani spoke 20 times, for a total of 16:38. Mitt Romney spoke 19 times, for a total of 13 minutes and 18 seconds. Fred Thompson and John McCain each spoke 12 times, for 12:16 & 11:00, respectively. Mike Huckabee spoke 11 times, for a total of 10:00. Paul spoke 9 times, for a total of 7:43. Hunter spoke 7 times, for a total of 5:06, and Tancredo spoke 7 times, for a total of 3:49. Mike Huckabee was not given a question to answer until minute 26, while Ron Paul's first question was given after the first half-hour. CNN's on-line viewer poll shows

the winner of the debate with 49% of the vote. Viewers found Rudy Giuliani to have the most disappointing performance, with 27% of the vote. Forty-four percent of Florida Republicans who said they were undecided surveyed by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research judged that Mike Huckabee won this debate, whereas 18% thought Rudy Giuliani won, 13% felt that Mitt Romney won, and 10% picked John McCain. No other participant was selected as the debate's winner by more than 5% of those surveyed. The poll's margin of error was +/- 6%. An InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research survey of over 1,035 decided & undecided Iowa Republicans taken during the last 20 minutes of the debate found that 32% thought Huckabee won the debate, while 16% judged that Romney won, 12% felt that Giuliani won, and 10% picked John McCain. In this poll, Fred Thompson was chosen by 7% and Ron Paul was chosen by 6% as the debate's winner. No other participant was selected as the debate's winner by more than 2% of those surveyed. John McCain and Ron Paul had a notable exchange over the

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. McCain stated that troops wanted the US government to "let them win." Ron Paul replied "The real question you have to ask is why do I get the most money from active duty officers and military personnel?" McCain also called Paul an isolationist, saying "We allowed

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

to come to power with that kind of isolationism." Paul replied that McCain was confusing

isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...

with

non-intervention Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

, "I want to trade with people, talk with people, travel, but I don't want to send troops overseas using force to tell them how to live." During breaks, ads created by each campaign were aired. Fred Thompson's ad attacked Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, to which they were allowed to respond. CNN was criticized for not revealing during the debate that Keith Kerr, an openly gay military general who had submitted a question and spoke during the debate, was on a campaign advisory organization supporting Hillary Clinton. CNN cut the question and candidate response in the subsequent airing of the debate. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' editorial writer Tim Rutten criticized CNN's handling of the debate, calling the network "corrupt" and accusing it of focusing the debate on immigration to benefit

Lou Dobbs Louis Carl Dobbs (September 24, 1945 – July 18, 2024) was an American conservative political commentator, author, and television host who presented '' Moneyline'' (later ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'') from 1980 to 2009 and 2011 to 2021. From 2021 unti ...

' ratings.
Part 1
an
Part 2
of the transcript at CNN.

December 9, 2007 - Miami, Florida

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

'', the nation's largest Spanish-speaking television network, sponsored a Republican debate hosted by the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

on December 9, 2007. The candidates in attendance were

, Duncan Hunter,

, and

was not invited.

was invited, but has vowed never to participate in a Spanish-language forum. As expected a prominent portion of the debate focused on immigration.
Entire Debate Video

Transcript

December 12, 2007 - Johnston, Iowa

The ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...

'' and

Iowa Public Television Iowa PBS, formerly Iowa Public Television (IPTV), is a network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member stations in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is operated by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department whi ...

were originally to host a Republican debate in

Johnston, Iowa Johnston is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,064 in the 2020 census, a large increase from the 8,649 population in 2000. It is part of the Des Moines– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Johns ...

, on January 5, 2008. The Iowa Republican Party, undecided on a date for the caucus, finally settled on January 3, two days before the planned debate. The debate was then moved to December 12, the day before the Des Moines Register hosted a Democratic debate. It aired live on Iowa Public Television, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN3, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN Radio, and Fox News Radio, with a prime time replay on C-SPAN2. Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson participated in the 90-minute debate; thus, with 9 candidates in attendance, this became the single largest Republican debate of the 2008 cycle. The moderator, Carolyn Washburn, editor of the ''Des Moines Register'', was criticized by the media for being overly "strict" in dictating answer time and for barring questions on both Iraq and immigration.
Entire Debate Video

Video with Closed Caption

January 5, 2008 – Goffstown, New Hampshire

WMUR-TV WMUR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate to most of New Hampshire. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

jointly hosted back-to-back Republican and Democratic debates from

three days before the first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. According to Nielsen Media Research, this debate drew the largest televised audience of the Republican primaries with an estimated 7.35 million viewers. The Republican debate included Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson.

Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American Terrestrial television, broadcast television news presenter, anchor, journalist, and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, ...

moderated. Candidates were allowed to participate if they meet one of three criteria, "place first through fourth in Iowa, poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major New Hampshire surveys, or poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major national surveys." Thus, ABC News eliminated Republican Duncan Hunter. ABC said the rules were quite inclusive, and that none of the candidates objected ahead of time. "In previous debates where the stage was more crowded you had to make sure all of the candidates got equal time," said David Chalian, ABC News political director. "Here you will have more time to go in depth on the issues."
NY Times Transcript

ABC News Transcript

Entire Republican Debate Video

Video with Closed Caption

January 6, 2008 – Milford, New Hampshire

A brunch forum housed by

with presidential candidates, originally to be sponsored by the New Hampshire Republican Party, was planned for broadcast on

. Candidates Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter were excluded by Fox News, though Paul got 10 percent of the Iowa vote while Giuliani, who was invited, got just 3 percent. Fox News said they had only enough room for "so many candidates." New Hampshire Republican Party chair Fergus Cullen said on December 31, "Limiting the number of candidates who are invited to participate in debates is not consistent with the tradition of the first in the nation primary. The level playing field requires that all candidates be given an equal opportunity to participate–-not just a select few determined by the media prior to any votes being cast." On January 5, following Fox News' continued refusal to allow a fair debate format, the New Hampshire Republican Party withdrew their sponsorship.

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

invited Ron Paul to be a guest on the January 7 Tonight Show specifically because he felt Paul's exclusion was "unfair." In a post-debate analysis by Fox News,

was declared the winner of the debate by several analysts. On top of this, Frank Luntz, a pollster with Fox News, indicated that Mitt Romney's performance was well received by his focus group of both conservatives and moderate conservatives.
Text transcript of the debate from the Council on Foreign Relations

Video transcript of debate from You Decide 2008

Video with Closed Caption

January 10, 2008 - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

hosted a debate at the

Myrtle Beach Convention Center Myrtle Beach Convention Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It hosts various local concerts, conventions, and sporting events for the Myrtle Beach area. History The original facility opened in October 196 ...

. All candidates except Duncan Hunter and

participated.
CFR Transcript

Video Transcript from You Decide 2008

Video with Closed Caption

January 24, 2008 - Boca Raton, Florida

hosted a two-hour debate at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

. The organizers include the university,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, Leadership Florida, the Florida Press Association and the Florida Public Broadcasting Service Inc. It took place on Thursday, January 24, from 9 to 11 pm EST. A text message poll was taken after the debate asking viewers who they believed had won. The results showed Romney won with 41%, Paul with 40%, Huckabee with 8%, McCain with 7%, and Giuliani with 4%.
Official web site

Video with Closed Caption

January 30, 2008 - Simi Valley, California

The ''

'', ''

'',

, and former First Lady

, hosted a Republican debate in

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Simi Valley borders Th ...

, at the

. This was the first debate after Rudy Giuliani withdrew and the last before

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...

, and

participated.
Video with Closed Caption

an

February 2, 2008 - New York, New York

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

hosted a two-party debate on February 2, 2008, "Closing Arguments: A Presidential Super Dialogue", broadcast live from the MTV studios. The candidates were two Democrats,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, and two Republicans,

and

. Invited but not attending were

and

References

External links

2008 Republican Presidential Debate Polls

2008 Republican Debate Video Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republican Party (United States) Presidential Debates, 2008 2008 United States presidential debates 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2007 in American television 2008 in American television