Jeb Bush got the least speaking time of any candidate at the debate

Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump at the third Republican presidential debate.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

published 29 October 2015

Jeb Bush's losing streak continued last night. The former Florida governor was likely hoping for a revival from the third Republican presidential debate after slipping in the polls and downsizing his headquarters; instead, he got the short end of the stick on speaking time.

Per NPR's tally, Bush spoke less than any of the other 10 candidates last night, clocking only 4 minutes and 56 seconds. Marco Rubio, Bush's former protégé and perhaps his biggest competitor, nearly doubled Bush's time and even outtalked Donald Trump with 8 minutes and 44 seconds of air time. Even candidates like Chris Christie, John Kasich, Rand Paul, and Mike Huckabee — who have consistently polled behind Bush — got more time to speak:

Bush's campaign manager Danny Diaz reportedly confronted CNBC about the discrepancy, resulting in an "argument" that "centered around how much time the candidates were permitted to speak," Mediaite reports. "I expressed my displeasure about the way the debate was managed and the amount of time [we got]," Diaz reportedly said.