A series of political debates were held prior to and during the 2012 Republican primaries, among candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in the national election of 2012. The first debate occurred on May 5, 2011, in Greenville, South Carolina, and was hosted by Fox News, while the last debate was held February 22, 2012, in Mesa, Arizona, and was hosted by CNN.
Debates
The following table includes more prominent venues involving several Republican presidential candidates. (Note: Clicking link at enumeration redirects to summary of debate below.)
Summaries
May 5, 2011 – Greenville, South Carolina
The first Republican debate was at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina. It was broadcast live for 90 minutes on Fox News, FoxNews.com, and Fox News Radio. Most of the candidates who had announced their runs at that time participated in the debate, being Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum, making this debate the one with the fewest candidates present, with only five.
Criteria for inclusion in the debate did not allow several other candidates, or potential candidates, to participate in the debate, including Buddy Roemer and Fred Karger, who did not meet the polling criterion of at least 1% in 5 national polls. Mitt Romney met the debate criteria, but rejected the invitation to appear in the debate. Newt Gingrich originally had planned to attend the debate, but did not meet additional criteria of forming an exploratory committee.
The debate was moderated by Fox News anchor Bret Baier of Special Report with Bret Baier and several other Fox News contributors, including Juan Williams, Shannon Bream, and Chris Wallace.
At the end of the debate, Fox News's online votes showed Ron Paul standing out from the other candidates, but businessman Herman Cain was the overwhelming choice of the Fox News focus group moderated by Frank Luntz. Transcript from ProCon.org and RonPaul.com Complete Video from DakotaVoice
June 13, 2011 – Goffstown, New Hampshire
The second Republican debate was held at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. It was broadcast live for 120 minutes on CNN, WMUR-TV, and CNN.com. Candidates making their first debate -- Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney—joined Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.
Criteria for inclusion in the debate did not allow several other candidates, or potential candidates, to participate in the debate, including Buddy Roemer, Gary Johnson, and Fred Karger, who did not meet the polling criterion of at least 1% in 5 national polls. Several other then-potential candidates, including Jon Huntsman, Rudy Giuliani, and Sarah Palin declined to participate in the debate.
The debate was moderated by CNN anchor John King of John King, USA and featured several other CNN contributors.
Following the debate, attention was drawn to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who announced she had filed with the FEC to run for President during the debate. Transcript from Chicago Sun-Times and CNN Complete video from CNN and DakotaVoice Washington Post Fact Check
August 11, 2011 – Ames, Iowa
The third Republican debate was held at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, sponsored by the Republican Party of Iowa, Fox News Channel, and The Washington Examiner. It was moderated by Bret Baier with questions from Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace and the Washington Examiner'''s Byron York and Susan Ferrechio. Baier and Wallace were praised for their moderation of the debate.
It was broadcast live for two hours on Fox News and FoxNews.com. Candidates participating in the debate included Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman Jr. It was the first debate appearance by Huntsman, and the final appearance by Pawlenty. Criteria for inclusion in the debate did not allow several other candidates, or potential candidates, to participate in the debate, including Buddy Roemer, Gary Johnson, Thaddeus McCotter and Fred Karger, who did not meet the polling criterion of at least 1% in 5 national polls.
The debate was noted for the sparring between Bachmann and Pawlenty; Pawlenty criticized Bachmann for what he said was a lack of leadership, while Bachmann fired back that Pawlenty's support for cap and trade legislation and the individual mandate while governor of Minnesota made his record look like President Obama's. Gingrich criticized Wallace by saying he was asking "gotcha questions" instead of legitimate questions.