Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is not only starting to appear toward the bottom in the polls, but his Tuesday televised town hall with CNN now holds the distinction of being one of the lowest in ratings for the network.
O’Rourke’s CNN town hall averaged 714,000 total viewers and 194,000 in the 25-54 demo, which means it came in third for both categories during 10-11:15 p.m. EST, according to early Nielsen Media Research.
In the same time slot on Tuesday, Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” had about 2,393,000 viewers and MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” had about 2,274,000 viewers.
CNN town halls with declared presidential candidates that had more viewers include:
- Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: 745,000
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar: 869,000
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker: 929,000
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: 1,091,000
The CNN town hall with a presidential candidate that scored lowest in ratings was with activist Marianne Williamson, which brought in just 310,000 viewers, according to the Washington Post.
O’Rourke’s weekday town hall also comes after South Bend, In.d, Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s Sunday town hall with Fox News, which averaged 1.1 million viewers and 172,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
CNN has stated they do not “host presidential town halls for ratings. We host them because substantive conversations with presidential candidates inform and empower voters to make the best possible choices for their families and communities. And it’s the right thing to do.”
