--- title: Republican Debate Poll: Who Won the Third CNBC GOP Debate? description: A post-debate poll canonical: https://time.com/4091596/third-republican-debate-poll-who-won/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-29T03:17:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:39:41.078Z article:section: Politics og:title: Vote Now: Who Won the Third Republican Presidential Debate? og:description: A post-debate poll og:url: https://time.com/4091596/third-republican-debate-poll-who-won/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d953a19714d63ab/69886e9f3c1639313545a71d/debate-gop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4581 og:image:height: 2577 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-DEBATE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Vote Now: Who Won the Third Republican Presidential Debate? twitter:description: A post-debate poll twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d953a19714d63ab/69886e9f3c1639313545a71d/debate-gop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vote Now: Who Won the Third Republican Presidential Debate? > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3d8bc0d1-b49e-4618-a21d-e35d56ed1927&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch The CNBC GOP Debate in Less Than 4 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The CNBC GOP Debate in Less Than 4 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8UytvMpk.m3u8) (3:46)  _Published 2015-10-29. Watch The CNBC GOP Debate in Less Than 4 Minutes_ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Oct 29, 2015 3:17 AM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Oct 29, 2015 3:17 AM UTC Republicans met for their third presidential debate on Wednesday, and we want to know who you think won the night. Take a moment to click the link below next to the candidate who you thought did the best at the CNBC debate in Boulder, Colo. A disclaimer for [Donald Trump](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/654844831903170560) (and possibly a few others): Online reader polls like this one are not statistically representative of eligible primary voters. They are a measure, however imprecise, of which candidates have the most energized online supporters, or most social media savvy fan base. After all, what they are counting is the number of Internet-devices controlled by people who want to vote. Past winners of TIME’s online polls in this election cycle have been Trump and Bernie Sanders, who also dominated [other online](https://www.facebook.com/cnn/app%5F1667241686824039) [post-debate](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/poll-who-do-you-think-won-the-first-democratic-debate) polls. A week after the Democratic debate, for example, a [statistically valid sample](http://time.com/4078484/hillary-clinton-won-democratic-debate-poll/) of the national Democratic electorate by CNN found that 62% believed Clinton was the winner, with Sanders getting the nod from 35%. ## Transcript Live from the University of Colorado in Boulder, the Republican Presidential Debate. [ APPLAUSE ] My great concern is that we are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job. What is your biggest weakness and what are you doing to address it? Well, John, I don't really have any weaknesses that I can think of. [ LAUGH ] I trust people too much. Not really seeing myself in that position until hundreds of thousands of people began to tell me that I needed to do it. Well gee, after the last debate I was told that I didn't smile enough. [ LAUGH ] [ APPLAUSE ] But I'm not worried about my finances, I'm worried about the finances of everyday Americans. [ INAUDIBLE ] who today are struggling in an economy that is producing good paying jobs, while everything else costs more. Whose fault is it that Medicare's broke and out of money, that Social Security broke and out of money, and I say look, it's not Republicans' fault, it's not Democrats' fault, it's your grandparents' fault for having too many damn kids. Tell me what's different between the government and Bernie [ INAUDIBLE ] who sits in prison today for doing less than what the government has done to the people on social security and medicare in this country. Let's tell people the truth. For once let's do that and stop trying to give them some kind of fantasy that's never going to come true. When you signed up for this, this was a six year term. And you should be showing up to work. I mean literally, the Senate, what is it, like a French work week? You get like three days where you have to show up? I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record. The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is gonna help you. Here's the bottom line. [ APPLAUSE ] My campaign- Would you feel more comfortable if your employees brought guns to work? Yes, I might feel more comfortable. I would say that I would, and I have a permit which is very unusual in New York, a permit to carry. And I do carry on occasion, sometimes a lot. But I like to be unpredictable, so people don't know exactly what you carry. [ LAUGH ] I love Donald Trump. Is a good man I'm wearing a Trump tie tonight. Get over that one. Okay? Wait a sec. Al. We're clearly not having that beer you mentioned. [ LAUGH ] But I'll give you thirty more seconds. But I'll buy you a tequila. Okay, alright. Or even some famous Colorado brownies. I'll give you thirty seconds to respond. Whoa. If somebody put me on their homepage, they did it without my permission. Does that not speak to your vetting process or judgment in any way? It speaks to the fact that I don't know that it's going on. We have 19 trillion dollars in debt, we have people out of work, we have ISIS and Al Qaeda attacking us, and we're talking about fantasy football? Can we stop? [ APPLAUSE ] I'm the only one on this stage that has a plan that would create jobs, cut taxes, balance the budget, and could get it done because I'm realistic. You just don't make promises like this. Why don't we just give a chicken in every pot? You find a Democrat that's for cutting taxes, cutting spending $ 10? I'll give him a warm kiss. I do not want to walk my five grandkids through the charred remains of the once great country called America and say here you go, $ 20 trillion worth of debt, good luck making something out of this mess. I want a government so small I can barely see it. I want a government so small that the individual has a chance to drive and prosper. I may not be your dream candidate just yet but I can assure you I am Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare and in your heart of hearts you cannot wait to see a debate between Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina. I will tell you this. 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