Republican Party presidential debates, 2016

The twelve Republican presidential debates, and the nine forums, were a series of political debates held between the candidates for the Republican Party's nomination for the United States presidential election, 2016.

The Republican National Committee announced the 2015–2016 debate schedule on January 16, 2015. It revealed that 12 debates would be held, in contrast to the 20 debates that were held from 2011 to 2012. The announcement included which news organizations would host each debate, with Fox News and CNN having three each; and one each for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, Fox Business Network, and a conservative media outlet to be announced. It had some changes during the primary.

The first live-broadcast debate occurred on Thursday, August 6, 2015, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was seen on the Fox News Channel by 24 million viewers, making the debate the most watched live broadcast for a non-sporting event in cable history. Due to the number of candidates running for nomination, Fox News aired two separate debates on August 6, with the less popular candidates going first, followed by the candidates with more support in the 'prime time' debate.

One debate per month followed through December 2015. The GOP candidates debated twice in January and three times in February 2016. On February 20, 2016, the RNC announced a thirteenth debate, which was to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday, March 21. This would have made for three debates in March, but the event was later canceled due to all but one of the candidates opting not to attend. If deemed necessary by the RNC, another final debate, potentially to be held in New York City, has also been approved.

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