Republican battle for speaking time: How Trump (and everyone else) fared

With the second Republican debate in the books, Trump emerged again having taken up the most airtime — talking for 18 minutes.

Jeb Bush talked for 17 minutes — right behind Trump and exactly where he found himself last debate. Behind Bush, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina each had roughly 13 minutes. Despite coming in tonight with the lowest polling numbers, Fiorinia got into the debate early and constantly chimed in throughout the night.

In the middle of the pack, Christie, Rubio, Paul, and Cruz all talked for 10 to 11 minutes, grabbing onto issues they’ve been outspoken on. Meanwhile, Scott Walker — an early favorite in the GOP primary — got the least amount of airtime Wednesday night with just 8 1/2 minutes, which put him behind Mike Huckabee and John Kasich, who each had roughly nine minutes. Over the three-hour debate, CNN asked Walker only two direct questions, and he spoke less than half as much as Trump and Bush by the end of the night.