"Boring." "Tiring." "Irritating." "Finished." Those are some of the words that GOP pollster Frank Luntz's focus groups of New Hampshire Republicans said on Fox News about Ohio Gov. John Kasich after Tuesday night's GOP presidential debate. Worse for Kasich, Luntz's group gave the governor's qualified support for the 2008 bank bailout (by President George W. Bush) the worst reaction Luntz said he has ever tested since 1996. "He was the biggest liberal on that stage, and that is why everyone was so bothered by that comment," said a woman named Melissa. "That was the most liberal comment I have ever heard on a Republican debate stage."
The bailout comment may have been the moment when Kasich lost the audience, but the focus group had other bones to pick with the Ohio governor. Some called him "contrived," others said he focused on his past accomplishments rather than vision for the future, while many more noted that Kasich kept interrupting other candidates, rudely. When Luntz asked why it was bad for Kasich to interrupt but the debate crowd booed Donald Trump for making the same point about Carly Fiorina, the New Hampshire Republicans said that Trump is a boor and Fiorina has a "target on her head." The focus group also complained that Marco Rubio is talking too much about himself and his family, and Trump attacks other Republicans too much. Luntz's group crowned Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) as the night's big winners, and you can watch the spectacle below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Codeword: November 15, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
