The third Republican debate is in the books, and the public has had time to absorb the spectacle. Undoubtedly, there was intrigue, conflict, and controversy as candidates all vied for their moment in the spotlight in the shortened two-hour time slot. Shots were fired, egos were bruised and soundbites were made. When the smoke cleared the question became: which candidates came out on top, and which issues were highlighted?

Taxes Were The Prime Subject

More than any other issue, taxes were the most frequently discussed subject in the debate. Mentioned more than twice the number of times of any other topic, taxes took center stage as the dominating issue of the third debate. Of all the candidates, only Mike Huckabee did not broach the topic, focusing instead on social security, medicare and medicaid.

Give A Round Of Applause To...

Throughout the debate, the audience made their presence known, cheering on the candidates and sometimes even booing the CNBC moderators for perceived wrongdoings. The candidates took full advantage of the active crowd, each attempting to land a zinger that would ignite the studio in applause. Some succeeded, and others not so much. Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina both won the crowd's favor, being applauded eight times each, while Jeb Bush and Rand Paul failed to resonate, each receiving applause only three times.

Did Anyone Dominate The Discussion?

For a little over than an hour and twenty minutes in total, the candidates voiced their concerns over the greatest threats facing the nation, as well as the solutions they hope to provide. While no candidate was given an unfair proportion of the allotted time, a few seemed to dominate the discussion. Both Fiorina and Rubio spoke for over ten minutes each, lifting the focus from front-runners Trump and Carson. Bush and Paul each talked for the least amount of time during the debate, about four minutes less than Fiorina and Rubio.

Who Won The Debate?

Overall, the breakout candidate in the third Republican debate was Marco Rubio. With a plurality of Republican voters agreeing that Rubio came out on top, the young Senator and his campaign now have momentum going forward. Interestingly, despite the fact that she led the field in time talking and elicited the most applause from the crowd, Carly Fiorina didn't even make a dent in the poll; only a measly one percent of Republicans believe that Fiorina won the debate.

The Clear Loser Of The Debate: CNBC

While the Fox News debate was generally approved of by Republican viewers and many were largely indifferent to the CNN debate, CNBC has received a great deal of scorn for the performance of their moderators in the third debate. Called unprepared, unprofessional, and generally incompetent, the CNBC moderates were subsequently called out, not only by the Republican candidates, but other media outlets as well.