The first Democratic primary debate is in the books, but not every candidate who participated got to speak for an equal amount of time. In total, each candidate spoke for at least five minutes in total throughout the two-hour debate that featured several commercial breaks and an embarrassing audio snafu. But Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey spoke the most minutes during the debate, with the rest of the candidates trailing behind. The NBC News moderators stuck to strict timing restraints. Candidates were given one minute for answers to direct questions and 30 seconds for rebuttals and followups. Each candidate was also allowed a 45-second closing statement. Here is how the timing broke down: Cory Booker - 11 minutes Beto O'Rourke - 10.3 minutes Elizabeth Warren - 9.3 minutes Julian Castro - 9 minutes Amy Klobuchar - 8.5 minutes Tim Ryan - 7.8 minutes John Delaney - 6.5 minutes Tulsi Gabbard - 6.5 minutes Bill de Blasio 5.5 minutes Jay Inslee - 5 minutes In a crowded field of candidates where attention spans are short and exposure is key, the candidates were all vying for as much time as possible. Sen. Warren benefited from having the moderators frequently point to her policy proposals and how other 2020 hopefuls responded to them. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Castro broke from the pack by frequently interjecting on key issues to engage in actual debate. Meanwhile, some candidates struggled to find their voice, such as former Rep. John Delaney, of Maryland, who moderators repeatedly hushed and told to wait his turn.
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