As he has since he launched his candidacy in June, Donald Trump received by far the most broadcast evening news coverage of any GOP presidential candidate both before and after the September 16 debate on CNN — taking 55 percent of the airtime during the two weeks before the event, and 57 percent in the two weeks that followed.
But since the debate, the Big Three have significantly ramped up their coverage of businesswoman Carly Fiorina, giving her more than 15 percent of the GOP candidates’ airtime over the past two weeks (September 17 to September 30).
Dr. Ben Carson was third, with 12 percent of the total coverage, followed by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has six percent. Five percent of the coverage went to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker as he dropped out of the race on September 21.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush attracted just three percent of TV news coverage in the two weeks following the GOP debate, down from eight percent in the two weeks prior to the debate (September 3 to September 16).
The networks’ pivot away from Bush has been extraordinary. In the first six months of 2015, Bush dominated the coverage with 36 percent of all GOP airtime; in July and August, even as Trump dominated the airwaves, Bush was the clear runner-up, far outstripping the other candidates.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie garnered 1.3 percent of post-debate TV news airtime. None of the other candidates managed to receive even one percent of the GOP airtime during this period.
Trump’s dominance of the airwaves is not as great as it was during the two weeks following the August debate on Fox News, when he took 72 percent of the total airtime, but his ability to attract media attention remains strong.