Kamala Harris’ town hall on CNN saw an average of 1.957 million viewers, the highest ratings ever CNN got till now for such an event with an individual election candidate, according to the network.
Harris, 54, announced her run for 2020 presidency earlier this week. She has been voted on top of the list of Democratic leaders aspiring to defeat President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
Harris, who was elected to the Senate in 2016, is the second African-American woman elected to the United States Senate. She has drawn comparisons to former president Barack Obama since early in her political career.
CNN announced Tuesday that the broadcast was the most-watched cable news single candidate election town hall, according to Nielsen data.
The live event on Monday averaged 1.957 million viewers, a figure far greater than CNN’s former four town halls, which pulled in an average audience of 1.119 million each, the network said in a statement.
CNN Town Hall with Harris on Monday night was the most viewed cable news single candidate election town hall of all time, the news network said in a statement.
The town hall averaged 712,000 among adults 25-54 from 10-11 p.m., effortlessly topping all cable news competition. CNN was also first in prime time in the demos, it said.
In the town hall, Harris reflected on her various policy issues, responding to questions from the audience.
Moderated by CNN anchor Jake Tapper, the Town Hall with Kamala Harris propelled CNN to 945,000 total days live starts across digital platforms on Monday. The California Senator is hoping to take advantage of high early fundraising numbers and enthusiasm from the base before the Democratic primary field.
It was reported earlier this week that the Harris campaign raised more than $1.5 million in online donations in the 24 hours since she announced her candidacy for president. She as well held an extremely publicized rally Sunday to officially kick off her presidential bid.
-Sowmya Sangam
