Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks on stage during a rally at the State House in Concord, New Hampshire. | Getty Hillary camp offers up Clinton name count to shame GOP debaters

Hillary Clinton wasn't on the stage at Tuesday night's debate in Milwaukee, but she got plenty of airtime with how many times her Republican rivals mentioned her throughout the evening.

The Democratic front-runner's campaign seized on the attacks, releasing a roughly minute-long video on Wednesday that included clips of the Republicans uttering her name and noting that they made just eight references to the middle class.


“Republicans mentioned Hillary Clinton more than 40 times at last night’s debates but had close to zero to say about how they would lift incomes for American workers,” campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement. “This is the No. 1 economic challenge the next president will face, and Republicans have ceded the field.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie perhaps most notably and repeatedly brought up Clinton on Tuesday during the four-candidate undercard debate, capitalizing on nearly every opportunity to shift back to Clinton. “His plan was to be himself and talk about the real issues facing this country, as well as remind voters who the best person is to run against Hillary Clinton,” a Christie campaign aide said.

Christie hit the talk show circuit Wednesday morning to repeat his message: He is running a campaign to beat Hillary Clinton, not just to win the Republican nomination. “I think that’s the most important question in this primary: Who do you think is the best person to stand on that stage and prosecute the case against Hillary Clinton and her liberal, near-socialist vision for America’s future,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And so that’s what I intend to continue to do.”

