Lazer, David, Oren Tsur, Katherine Ognyanova, and Ryan P. Kennedy. 2015. “Debate Data Reveals It’s Still the Trump Show”. Politico, 2015.
See also:
21st Century Democracy

Abstract
Crunching the words, experts find Trump got the attention, Rubio made the most of his chances and Jeb squandered them. A lot of ink has been spilled over last Wednesday’s debate, but here’s another way to talk about it. Judging purely by the data, Trump still dominated - but Fiorina and Christie really stepped forward, and Rubio made the most of the openings he had. Jeb Bush, meanwhile, had plenty of chances but largely let them slip by.