ABC, WMUR To Host 2012 GOP Debate

ABC News and WMUR, the Hearst-owned ABC affiliate in Manchester, N.H., are joining forces once again to host a Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in 2012. This debate will be held at a critical moment in the Republican nomination process — just as the primary season gets underway.

The specific date and time of this debate will be determined once the dates for the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary have been determined by state officials. The debate will air locally on WMUR, nationally on ABC and will be live-streamed on ABCNews.com and WMUR.com.

ABC News and WMUR co-hosted back-to-back Democratic and Republican presidential debates in 2008 at the same time in the primary season, and have a long partnership covering “First in the Nation” politics in New Hampshire. In 2008 more than 9 million viewers across the country tuned in to watch the Democratic debate, and 7.35 million for the Republican debate. The debates were also among the highest rated programs in WMUR history.

“The days between Iowa and New Hampshire have often been make-or-break for candidates, and we look forward to putting the crucial questions of the day to the contenders for the Republican nomination,” said incoming ABC News President Ben Sherwood. “We are confident that voters in New Hampshire, and across the country, will be able to make even better decisions after watching this debate.”

“WMUR is proud of our history of partnering with ABC for presidential debates,” said Jeff Bartlett, WMUR president-GM. “We are looking forward to producing another informative debate.”