The only vice-presidential debate of the 2012 campaign turned out to be a popularity ‘no contest’ — with fewer people actually tuning in.
An estimated 51.4 million watched Vice President Joe Biden and his Republican opponent, Paul Ryan, butt heads Thursday, according to Nielsen data.
When Sarah Palin and then Sen. Biden squared off four years ago, 69.9 million sets of eyes were looking on, Nielsen estimated. That’s over 18 million more.
The approximate 25 percent dip in viewership puts the Veep slugfest at No. 3, behind the 1984 George H.W. Bush-Geraldine Ferraro, which had 56.7 million viewers.