ABSTRACT
The rapid fall of Rick Perry illustrates the significant, and potentially pivotal, role that televised debates play in presidential nomination politics. Debates among the candidates of each party prior to and during the presidential primary season have proliferated over the past two decades, as measured by the number of events held per election and the size of the national audience. Citizens are weighing support among candidates within their own party rather than across party lines, removing the most powerful determinant of vote choice in general elections. A study of the 2012 Republican debates conducted by Schiffer concluded that the earliest debates exerted the greatest influence on voter preferences, which became less open to change as the sequence of events progressed. The Republican National Committee passed a resolution allowing party leaders to formally recognize, and help to organize, a limited series of debates.
