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Primary · Republican · 28 January 2016

Republican Candidates Debate in Des Moines, Iowa

Full transcript: The American Presidency Project (opens The American Presidency Project in a new tab)

Speaking turns

280

18,773 words transcribed

Candidates' share

74%

7 candidates

Moderators' share

25%

moderators, panellists, questioners

Crosstalk markers

8

1 turn ends on a dash

The debate, turn by turn

Read left to right: each block is one turn, placed where it falls in the running word count and as wide as it is long.

RubioCruzBushKasichChristiePaulCarsonWallaceKellyBaierQuestionersRecorded clipsstart25%50%75%18.8K words
Candidates Moderators, panellists, questioners Audience, recorded clips, unidentified

Share of words

A stand-in for talk time.

  • Rubio16.8%30 turns
  • Cruz12.5%24 turns
  • Bush10.5%18 turns
  • Kasich10.2%16 turns
  • Christie9.7%15 turns
  • Paul8.8%18 turns
  • Wallace8.6%44 turns
  • Kelly7.9%58 turns
  • Baier7.2%46 turns
  • Carson5.2%6 turns
  • Questioners1.4%3 turns
  • Recorded clips1.3%2 turns

How long each turn ran

Ticks are single turns; boxes span the middle half; the heavy bar is the median.

110100words per turn (log scale)RubioCruzBushKasichChristiePaulWallaceKellyBaierCarsonQuestionersRecorded clips

Every speaker

Show the full speaker table
Speakers in the Republican Candidates Debate in Des Moines, Iowa
SpeakerRoleTurnsWordsShareMedian turnLongestEnds on a dashReading grade
RubioCandidates303,15116.8%10127707.2
CruzCandidates242,33912.5%10630117.2
BushCandidates181,97210.5%9525506.7
KasichCandidates161,92110.2%5039705.6
ChristieCandidates151,8179.7%12930006.5
PaulCandidates181,6438.8%11825505.9
WallaceModerators, panellists and questioners441,6208.6%1917006.4
KellyModerators, panellists and questioners581,4837.9%1112505.1
BaierModerators, panellists and questioners461,3487.2%1210706.9
CarsonCandidates69805.2%16124807.9
QuestionersModerators, panellists and questioners32601.4%8888010.1
Recorded clipsAudience, recorded clips and unidentified22391.3%12012808.6

As the 2025 scraper split it

The notebook's own Participants and Moderators fields, reproduced exactly by the TypeScript port.

Participants
No participants block in this transcript
Moderators
No moderators block in this transcript
Listing date
January 28, 2016