Presidential candidates launch their bids in different cities -- from Louisville to Lynchburg, Miami to Addison -- but, for many Republicans, the first stop on the campaign trail is the same: "Hannity."
In the last two months, four GOP hopefuls have given Sean Hannity dibs on their first interviews as candidates and been rewarded with hour-long "special events" on his primetime Fox News program. Others have tried to land an interview with the conservative host, campaign sources said, only to be turned down -- either because they had given their first interview to another media outlet, or because they weren't popular enough.
On Thursday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry will become the fourth Republican to get an hour-long special on Hannity's program. Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were all given the same hour-long special the night after they formally announced their bids.
For Republicans, Hannity provides instant access to the highly coveted conservative base. His show averaged more than 1.5 million viewers a night in May, according to the network's most recent ratings report. While that's lower than the viewership for "The O'Reilly Factor" or "The Kelly File," the bulk of Hannity's viewers are, like the host, reliably conservative. He also hosts a daily talk radio program that is second only to Rush Limbaugh in terms of listenership.
"Sean Hannity has a loyal following among the viewership of Fox News," Sergio Gor, a spokesperson for Paul, told the On Media blog. "He is one of the most influential voices among republican primary voters, and it doesn't hurt that with every year he's becoming an even greater lover of liberty."
Rick Tyler, a spokesperson for Cruz, said Hannity "has a big target audience and his questions are from a center-right perspective. In other words, he brings up the issues Republican primary voters are interested in."
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