The first Democratic presidential primary debate on Wednesday had about the same number of viewers as the party’s first debate during the 2016 election cycle
The first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign raked in 15.3 million viewers Wednesday, roughly the same number of people who tuned in to watch the party’s first debate during the 2016 election cycle.Thursday, came despite the absence of Democratic front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who have led the primary pack in nearly all polling. Other top-tier candidates are also scheduled for the second night of Democratic debates on Thursday, including California Sen.
It is unclear what Wednesday’s viewership numbers mean for Thursday night’s debate. Viewers could feel that two nights of Democratic debates are too many and tune out, or they could watch for the spectacle of Biden and Sanders facing off for the first time in the 2020 campaign. Wednesday's ratings did not come close to the first Republican presidential primary debate of the 2016 cycle. That forum, hosted by Fox News in August 2015 and featuring 10 GOP candidates, garnered a mammoth 24 million viewers.
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