Watching Campaign Debates

Fewer than half of the US public (43%) say they have watched one or more of the presidential debates. Reflecting the Democrats’ greater engagement on the campaign, nearly half of Democrats (48%) say they have watched a debate in the past year, compared with 44% of independents and just 38% of Republicans. In addition, far more Democrats (14%) than Republicans (4%) say they only watched a debate involving their own party’s. About the same proportion of Democrats (32%) Republicans (28%) and independents (32%) say they watched the debates of both parties. People who say they get most of their campaign news from cable news networks are more likely to have watched a debate than people who get their election news elsewhere. More than half (55%) of those who cite cable news as their main source of campaign information watched at least one presidential debate, the highest proportion of any campaign news audience. Read More