LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first of a pair of Democratic presidential primary debates drew a robust 15-plus million viewers.
Nielsen figures out Thursday show the event’s viewership topped every primary debate for the 2008 and 2012 elections.
But Wednesday’s debate, the first of the 2020 campaign, didn’t approach the numbers for the initial 2016 GOP primary debate.
Nearly 24 million viewers tuned in to see freshly minted candidate Donald Trump take the stage among other Republican contenders.
The first Democratic debate for the 2016 cycle, including eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, drew nearly 15.8 million viewers.
Another 10 Democratic candidates, including early front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, were to take part in the Thursday debate.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less