Even though it was one of the highest-rated cable television shows ever, not very many Utahns watched the first GOP debate according to a new UtahPolicy.com survey.
Just 36% of Utahns say they watched the first debate featuring the top-10 Republican candidates in Cleveland.
The debate pulled in a record 24 million viewers nationwide and was the highest rated program in the history of the Fox News Channel.
Not surprisingly, more Republicans watched the debate than Democrats and independent voters in Utah.
- 42% of Republicans say they tuned in.
- 34% of Democrats and independent voters watched the debate.
We asked those Utahns who watched the debate who they felt won the event. The most popular answer (22%) was "don't know." Businessman Donald Trump and Marco Rubio were picked as the winner by 16% of respondents. 11% said surgeon Ben Carson came out on top. Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush each got 8% in our survey.
Among Republicans who watched the debate, Marco Rubio came out on top (24%) followed by Donald Trump (19%). No other candidates scored in the double digits among Republicans.
A third of Democrats (33%) who watched the debate felt Kasich won the debate followed by Ben Carson (19%), Jeb Bush (14%), and Donald Trump (14%).
16% of independent voters in Utah said Ben Carson was the winner, followed by Donald Trump (14%) and Jeb Bush (13%).
The survey was conducted for UtahPolicy.com by Dan Jones & Associates from August 7-14, 2015. 500 adult Utahns were surveyed. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.99%.
