Two-thirds (69%) of respondents to a new poll said they have watched some portion of televised presidential debates, and most found them helpful and entertaining.
That is according to a new poll released by Pew Research Center.
The 69% compares with 43% who reported watching some of the debates in 2007, the last presidential race in which there were contested races in both parties.
Two-thirds of those who said they had watched also said they found the debates helpful in learning about the candidates, while half (51%) described them as "fun to watch."
The debates have skewed older, with 58% of those under 30 saying they have watched, compared to 72% for those 30 and older. But interest in the debates is pretty age-neutral. Of those under 30, 70% said they learned from them. For the over-30 set, that figure was 68%, or a statistical dead heat.
The results come a day before the last Republican debate Dec. 15--on CNN, from Las Vegas.
The Princeton Survey poll was conducted Dec. 8-13 by telephone, cell and landline, among 1,500 adults 18-plus. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
