Speaking time at the Democratic debate mostly reflected the polls

It didn't seem easy to get a word in on the crowded Democratic debate stage. But in Detroit on Tuesday, the frontunners were able to shoulder their way through the melee, as speaking time mostly reflected the polls.

The center stage candidates, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), unsurprisingly got the most speaking time. Warren, who spoke for over 18 minutes total, edged out Sanders by 48 seconds, per The New York Times. Both of them were several minutes ahead of the next most talkative Democrat, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is also their closest contender in the polls out of Tuesday's participants.

After Buttigieg's 14-plus minutes, things got a bit jumbled among the seven remaining candidates, all of whom spoke for more than eight minutes, but less than 11. The new guy, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, wasn't expected to get much time to talk, but the Times calculated that he actually finished with the fourth highest total, beating out former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas).

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Only former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper had less of an opportunity to get his points across than Marianne Williamson, but the author seemingly resonated with viewers, anyway. She appears to have won the Google search game, at least. Tim O'Donnell