--- title: Republican Debate on CBS Had 13 Million Viewers description: More than 13 million viewers tuned in to see Saturday's Republican debate, the most-watched of all nine debates this year. canonical: https://time.com/4224462/republican-debate-ratings-cbs/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-14T20:33:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:44:53.046Z article:section: Politics og:title: CBS Republican Debate Was the Most-Watched of 2016 og:description: It drew 13.5 million viewers og:url: https://time.com/4224462/republican-debate-ratings-cbs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3498a1f9afad233/69887d920b72e382e66e822b/republican-debate-ratings-cbs.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidates Debate In Greenville, South Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CBS Republican Debate Was the Most-Watched of 2016 twitter:description: It drew 13.5 million viewers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3498a1f9afad233/69887d920b72e382e66e822b/republican-debate-ratings-cbs.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The CBS Republican Debate Was the Most-Watched of 2016 > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### 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.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 14, 2016 8:33 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Ohio Governor John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Carson stand on stage during a CBS News GOP Debate on Feb. 13 at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Ohio Governor John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Carson stand on stage during a CBS News GOP Debate on Feb. 13 at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina.Spencer Platt-Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 14, 2016 8:33 PM UTC More than 13 million viewers tuned in to see [Saturday night’s brutal Republican debate](http://time.com/4224330/republican-debate-donald-trump-ted-cruz-brutal/), the most-watched debate of 2016. The six remaining GOP presidential candidates [faced off on stage in Greenville, South Carolina](http://time.com/4224275/republican-debate-transcript-south-carolina-ninth/), exchanging barbs, shouting over each other and questioning each other’s character before the state’s primary. The live [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-who-won-the-cbs-news-republican-debate-2016/) showdown between real estate mogul Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich drew 13.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. **Read More**: [This Was the Least-Watched Republican Debate](http://time.com/4183224/republican-debate-low-ratings-january/) It was the highest-rated debate among adults between the ages of 25 and 54 and Saturday’s top primetime broadcast, figures show. 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