Primary Debates and Forums

ABC News/WMUR/IJReview Republican Presidential Debate 
Saturday, February 6, 2016 at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH.
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L-R: Kasich, Bush, Rubio, Trump, Cruz, Carson, Christie.                                                                                                          ABC News 

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Post-Debate  |  video, 2  |  transcript

Sponsors:  ABC News, WMUR, Independent Journal Review, RNC and Saint Anselm College.

Candidates: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump.  [7 total]

Moderators: “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and co-anchor of “This Week” and chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz.  Also questions from WMUR anchor Josh McElveen and conservative journalist and blogger Mary Katharine Ham.

Audience:  .

Broadcast: "Live nationally on the ABC Television Network, locally on WMUR-TV and will be live streamed on ABCNews.com and across ABC News’ mobile and OTT platforms. An on-demand replay of the debate will be made available across these platforms as well."

Format:  Candidates had one minute to respond to questions and 30 seconds for follow ups and rebuttals. 

Overview:  The eighth Republican debate occurred just a few days before the New Hampshire primary.  The Iowa caucuses had pared the field by three candidates (Huckabee, Paul and Santorum.  For the first time there was not an undercard debate; Carly Fiorina and former Gov. Jim Gilmore were not invited.  The major story line to emerge from this debate was that Sen. Marco Rubio, who had been seen to be gaining momentum following his third-place showing in the Iowa caucuses, "appeared rattled" by Gov. Chris Christie's sharp attacks.