The Debate Clock: Cruz Talks The Most

The GOP presidential candidates met Tuesday night in Las Vegas for their fifth debate, this one hosted by CNN. It was the first debate to use early-state polls as a way for candidates to qualify for the main stage. The moderators said they would try to give the candidates equal talking time, but as NPR has found in earlier debates, that's proved easier said than done.

Returning to the prime-time stage is Chris Christie, who did not qualify for the Fox Business prime-time debate last month.

The 6 p.m. undercard debate featured Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum, George Pataki and Mike Huckabee. Huckabee was the only candidate who had previously debated on the main stage.

Here is NPR's final tally of how much airtime each main-stage candidate got in the prime-time debate:

Cruz: 15:58

Rubio: 13:33

Trump: 13:25

Christie: 10:45

Carson: 10:27

Bush: 10:13

Paul: 9:46

Fiorina: 9:32

Kasich: 9:00

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