Potential Republican Presidential Candidates – The C-SPAN View
"Appearances on C-SPAN" provides an imperfect but useful indicator of the prominence of potential presidential candidates over the years.  Given C-SPAN's primary mission of covering the House and Senate, the numbers are skewed towards officials serving in Congress and Washington, DC events.  Activities of those serving out in the states are not covered nearly as much so one cannot make direct comparisons among the various prospects.  Nonetheless, these numbers do give a sense of the career arcs of these individuals.  For example, looking at appearances of John Kasich one can see his long tenure in the House including an intense 1995 when he was chairman of the House Budget Committee, then almost no appearances during his time in the private sector, and in recent years some modest numbers including his time as governor.  At the opposite extreme is Scott Walker, who first appeared on C-SPAN in 2010.  As you look at the table you can figure out some of the events that correlate with high numbers.
Year
 84
 85
 86
 87
 88
 89
 90
 91
 92
 93
 94
 95
 96
 97
 98
 99
 00
 01
 02
 03
 04
 05
 06
 07
 08
 09
 10
 11
 12
 13
J.Bush


1
 1
 -
 -
 -
 4
 -
 9
 3
 1
 2
 4
 4
 16
 8
 8
 6
 6
 6
 7
 2
 -
 1
 2
 2
 6
 8
B.Carson












1
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 1
 -
 2
 3
 -
 -
 1
 1
 3
C.Christie


















2
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 3
 7
 9
 9
 10
T.Cruz





















1
 -
 3
 -
 -
 7
 8
 96
M.Huckabee









1
 2
 3
 5
 2
 5
 2
 3
 6
 2
 3
 13
 21
 37
 32
 -
 2
 4
 2
 -
J.Huntsman



















4
 1
 2
 3
 6
 2
 1
 16
 10
 2
B.Jindal











1
 -
 2
 1
 -
 1
 1
 2
 1
 22
 9
 15
 5
 3
 6
 3
 6
 5
J.Kasich
 5
 5
 1
 8
 27
 18
 19
 21
 18
 55
 35
 101
 52
 41
 32
 43
 22
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 1
 1
 5
 5
 4
 2
P.King







2
 20
 21
 18
 8
 7
 4
 10
 10
 10
 8
 11
 8
 15
 20
 22
 6
 15
 11
 21
 12
 23
S.Palin





















3
 4
 25
 5
 8
 2
 2
 2
R.Paul
























1
 9
 61
 65
 47
R.Perry







1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 1
 1
 3
 -
 2
 3
 1
 7
 1
 7
 27
 9
 4
M.Rubio






1

















7
 47
 38
 66
P.Ryan










1
 -
 -
 1
 28
 27
 20
 13
 19
 12
 28
 15
 50
 34
 53
 32
 42
 71
 46
R.Santorum





1
 19
 24
 25
 30
 77
 37
 27
 26
 31
 16
 45
 42
 80
 19
 38
 47
 1
 2
 1
 4
 29
 51
 4
S.Walker

























3
 7
 19
 13
From C-SPAN appearance stats.

When They Were Young - First Appearances on C-SPAN
If you are in the mood for some vintage political action, Democracy in Action points you to these C-SPAN videos. [click images; some are not cued up]
Nov. 14, 1987 - Florida Secretary of Commerce introduces his father Vice President George W. Bush at Presidency II, the FL Republican Convention and Straw Poll in Orlando, FL.  [age 34 years, 9.1 months]
 Feb. 6, 1997 - Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins is the featured speaker at the 45th National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC.  [age 45 years, 4.7 months]
Aug. 13, 2003 - U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey holds a press conference in Newark, NJ to announce the indictment and arrest of Hemant Lakhani for trying to smuggle a surface-to-air missile.  [age 40 years 11.2 months] March 1, 2006 - Attorneys speaking to reporters on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court following oral arguments in four Texas redistricting cases on Feb. 24, on C-SPAN "America and the Courts" segment.  [age 35 years, 2.1 months]
Aug. 18, 1992 - Candidate for U.S. Senate (running against Dale Bumpers) addresses the morning session of the second day of the Republican National Convention in Houston, TX.  [age 36 years, 11.8 months]
 Sept. 17, 2004 - Candidate in Utah Governor's Debate running against Scott Matheson Jr..  (Campaign 2004 via Comcast)  [age 44 years, 5.8 months]

Nov. 9, 1996 - Louisana Secretary of Health and Hospitals appears as as a newspaper roundtable guest opposite Marshall Mitchell (D) on C-SPAN's Saturday "Washington Journal."  [age 25 years, 5 months]
Dec. 10, 1992 - Congressman-elect boarding a bus at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC for a trip to Annapolis for a Heritage Foundation new member orientation.  [age 48 years, 8.2 months]
 Aug. 17, 2006 - One of three candidates in Alaska Republican primary debate in Juneau against Gov. Frank Murkowski and John Binkley.  (via KTOO-TV/Alaska Public Television)  [age 42 years, 6.2 months]
Sept. 16, 2009 - Candidate for U.S. Senate challenging Sen. Jim Bunning (R) appears on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" in their Washington, DC studio.  [age 46 years, 8.3 months]
 Aug. 18, 1992 - Texas Secretary of Agriculture addresses the morning session of the second day of the Republican National Convention in Houston, TX.  [age 42 years. 5.5 months]
Feb. 1, 2001 - State representative and member of the Governor of Florida's Select Task Force on Election Procedures at one of their hearings.  [age 29 years, 8.2 months]
 May 27, 1995 - Legislative director in the office of Rep. Sam Brownback as a newspaper roundtable guest opposite Craig Hanna on C-SPAN's Saturday "Washington Journal."  [age 25 years, 3.9 months]
Dec. 13, 1990 - Congressman-elect participating in a C-SPAN-hosted new members roundtable also featuring Rep.-elects Pete Peterson (D-FL), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and John Boehner (R-OH).  [age 32 years, 7.1 months]
 Aug. 25, 2010 - Republican gubernatorial candidate debate between Walker and Mark Neumann at Marquette Law School before the Sept. 14 primary.  (Campaign 2010 via WISN)  [age 42 years 9.8 months]