Forgotten politicians: Why no one remembers the debate losers

Each election cycle, presidential hopefuls line a debate stage, hoping to pitch their messages and their vision for the country to the American people. 

In 2016, 17 Republican candidates were vying for the GOP nomination. Of course, former President Trump emerged the winner, and stole the show at the first Republican primary debate in August 2015. 

But some candidates missed the mark—and their presidential campaigns have since been forgotten. 

Remember former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore? He ran for president in 2016. So did former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania; former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; businesswoman Carly Fiorina; former New York Gov. George Pataki—among others. But does anyone remember their debate performances? 

Many of those so-called “undercard” debate participants dropped out of the race early in the 2016 primary calendar. 

Similarly, in 2019, 20 Democrats took the debate stage to battle for the Democratic nomination to compete against Trump in 2020. 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland; Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Sen. Michael Bennet among more than a dozen others took the debate stage. But does anyone remember if they managed to get a standout moment?