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On The Clock: Rubio Gets The Most Talking Time In Tonight's Debate

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz participate in the Republican presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Joe Raedle
/
Getty Images
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz participate in the Republican presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The Republican presidential candidates met tonight in Manchester, N.H. for the final debate before the first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday, February 9.

Unlike the last Republican debate, Donald Trump, who came in second in the Iowa caucuses, decided to participate. He joined the winner of the Iowa caucuses, Ted Cruz, as well as Marco Rubio, who came in third. Trump and Rubio were only separated by one percentage point in the caucuses.

Did Trump talk the most, after reclaiming his place on the stage? As always, NPR had its stopwatch at the ready.

Here is NPR's final talking time tally:

Rubio: 18:14

Cruz: 17:34

Trump: 15:32

Christie: 12:53

Bush: 12:30

Kasich: 10:33

Carson: 8:46

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Barbara Sprunt is a producer on NPR's Washington desk, where she reports and produces breaking news and feature political content. She formerly produced the NPR Politics Podcast and got her start in radio at as an intern on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered and Tell Me More with Michel Martin. She is an alumnus of the Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship at the National Press Foundation. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania native.