Total speaking times during the first night of the 2020 Democratic debate showed that Cory Booker and Beto O’Rourke received significantly more time with the microphone than their female counterparts. While ten candidates battled for the spotlight and the chance to win the favor of Democratic voters, moderators battled to keep the presidential hopefuls to their allotted answer and response times.
Booker, a New Jersey senator, and O’Rourke, a former Texas representative, spoke for just under eleven minutes each, nearly two minutes longer than any other candidate. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, chosen as the winner of the debate by a reader poll conducted by the Washington Examiner, spoke only for a paltry seven minutes and twenty-two seconds.
Elizabeth Warren, considered by many to have been the front-runner going into the first night of debates, spoke for just over nine minutes, the longest of the three female candidates by a significant margin. Amy Klobuchar spoke for just over eight minutes.
Many candidates, both male and female, have campaigned on greater equality for women in politics. with Booker saying in a recent interview that having two males on a presidential ticket would not reflect his values on diversity.
Despite their elongated speaking times, Booker and O’Rourke received sharp criticism for their performances on the debate stage, with one Democratic strategist calling O’Rourke’s performance, “painful to watch.” Both O’Rourke and Booker used select portions of their time to answer questions in both English and Spanish.
