Thanks to today’s 24/7 new cycle, we have come to expect instant analyses of political debates.

The students logged each question, who asked it, who it was asked to, and who rebutted other candidates’ responses. They recorded their observations in an Excel spreadsheet, sorted and analyzed the data and identified patterns and trends.

Their research yielded five interesting findings:

• Despite his low poll numbers, Andrew Yang was asked nearly as many questions as three leading candidates.
• The economy was the topic of the most questions.
• The environment received little attention.
• Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the three leading candidates, were asked the most questions.
• Warren and the other women candidates were marginalized.

Categories: Jandoli Institute, Politics, Research