The best solution to the crowded GOP debate pool? A March Madness-style bracket.

(Image credit: Twitter.com/Jon Gabriel)

published 20 May 2015

As the Republican field for 2016 continues to grow — potentially including as many as 18 candidates by the time primary season begins — the obvious logistical difficulties of hosting an 18-candidate debate have become apparent. Even if the final count isn't quite that high, fitting this many people comfortably on the stage (not to mention letting them talk for more than 15 seconds at a time) will be tricky.

While a handful of solutions have been proposed, one particularly intriguing idea is to have a series of one-on-one debates organized like a March Madness bracket:

The set-up is similar to the NCAA basketball tournament, but it starts with the Sweet Sixteen. Every candidate is seeded via the Real Clear Politics polling average and is matched up accordingly. Round One would feature eight half-hour debates, Round Two would have four 45 min. debates, and blammo, you're down to four candidates. You can stop there, or keep it going for two more rounds to figure out the primary winner. [Ricochet]

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.

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