With two major candidates already in the race and the first debate just four months away, Republicans are scrambling for position in the 2016 presidential primary. And some of the most intense primary jockeying will be over who gets to moderate the debates.
No single factor looms as large in each debate as the person or persons selected to ask questions. In a 2012 GOP presidential primary debate hosted by ABC, moderator George Stephanopoulos infuriated conservatives when he raised an unexpected question about a 1965 Supreme Court contraception ruling and pressed candidate Mitt Romney on the obscure topic for several minutes. Candidate Newt Gingrich, on the other hand, got a boost in polls after a debate in which he aggressively rebutted a question from CNN’s John King.
The Republican National Committee has been working to keep the upcoming primary debates more structured and to include elements from conservative media — conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt will participate as a panelist in CNN’s September debate — but TV journalists from bigger, more mainstream news outlets will still serve as central figures, shaping the outcomes.
Other than a schedule posted online in January by the Republican National Committee, little is known about the GOP presidential primary debates that will take place between August and spring of 2016. But a survey of the networks’ most prominent news talent gives strong hints about which reporters are most likely to be key moderators in each debate.
Fox News: Fox is scheduled to host three debates, one in August and then two next year in January and March. Most likely to play a prominent role in at least one of those is “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier. Baier has proven himself an aggressive interviewer of candidates from both major parties. In 2010, Baier drew notice from the media for an interview with President Obama in which Baier repeatedly interrupted the president’s longer answers. In 2011, then-GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, after an interview with Baier, complained that some of the questions were “uncalled for.”
CNN: CNN will host debates in September, December and then one in March next year. Anchor Jake Tapper has reportedly already been selected to moderate the first one. Tapper is one of few names in TV news with authority on politics respected by both conservatives and liberals. Conservatives, who are generally skeptical of any non-Fox News media, grew to like Tapper when he was a White House correspondent at ABC News, often pressing former Obama spokesman Jay Carney to answer uncomfortable questions.
CNBC: The only debate CNBC will host is in October. With no real standout national political personalities, CNBC is expected to assign an uncontroversial moderator. The frontrunner is John Harwood, chief Washington correspondent and a political writer for the New York Times.
Fox Business: Fox Business will likely want to try out its newest star for the channel’s November debate: Maria Bartiromo. Business reporter Bartiromo gained fame at CNBC and was lured to Fox at the start of 2014. Like CNBC’s Harwood, Bartiromo is likely be met with little or no controversy.
ABC News: Stephanopoulos, who anchors ABC’s “This Week” on Sundays, is still a likely choice for the February debate, but if ABC wanted to make nice with the Republican National Committee, it could go in a slightly different direction and select Martha Raddatz or Jonathan Karl. Raddatz moderated the vice presidential debate in 2012, to acclaim, and Karl is widely known for confounding spokesmen for the Obama administration with creative but thoughtful on-camera questioning.
CBS News: Bob Schieffer, longtime anchorman of CBS’s “Face of the Nation,” made himself a non-factor for the network’s February primary debate by announcing Wednesday that he will retire sometime this summer. That leaves CBS White House correspondent Major Garrett, who is reportedly being considered as a replacement for Schieffer and has worked at Fox News in the past. Like ABC’s Karl and CNN’s Tapper, Garrett is respected by conservatives and liberals.
NBC/Telemundo: As a joint venture, NBC and Telemundo’s February debate will likely feature co-moderators. NBC will probably field Chuck Todd, who anchors “Meet the Press” and is generally considered an authority on politics. For Telemundo, the answer isn’t obvious, but Jose Diaz-Balart anchors his own show on MSNBC. (MSNBC is not scheduled to host a GOP debate.)
Conservative media debate: A to-be-determined debate is on the schedule, supposedly to be hosted by conservative media. There are countless voices in right-leaning talk radio and TV news but few are experienced in debate moderation. Options include radio host Hugh Hewitt, CNN contributor S.E. Cupp, TheBlaze TV’s Amy Holmes and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman.
