AP
January 14, 2016
A
smaller cast of Republican presidential candidates returns to the main
debate stage Thursday night, one of the last high-profile opportunities
for the White House hopefuls
to sway voters before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucus.
The
prime-time showdown in South Carolina will highlight a race that has
cleaved into two distinct — and increasingly heated — contests.
After
months of civility toward rival Ted Cruz, front-runner Donald Trump is
aggressively targeting the Texan, positing that the Canadian-born
senator may be ineligible
to be president.
Cruz
has "a little problem," Trump told a crowd in Pensacola, Florida,
Wednesday night. "I'm sure they'll get into it tomorrow night."
Cruz
dismisses that claim and is returning the fire, accusing the brash
businessman of having "New York values" and questioning his foreign
policy credentials.
Four
other candidates are fighting to become the more mainstream Republican
alternative to the pair of anti-Washington candidates leading the field.
Florida Sen. Marco
Rubio is seen by some as having a slim edge, opening him up to a
torrent of criticism from his rivals about his voting record in the
Senate and his immigration policy, as well as the 44-year-old's youth
and relative inexperience.
The
Republican divide has given definition to a race that has been
otherwise unwieldy and chaotic. Trump's stranglehold on the lead has
confounded many of his rivals and
forced party leaders to grapple with the prospect of him eventually
becoming the GOP nominee.
Former
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has been among the few establishment Republicans
jabbing Trump in recent weeks — a fact his campaign is quick to point
out. In a likely preview
of his debate tactics, Bush sharply criticized Trump on Wednesday for
holding positions on taxes, guns and health care that he says are out of
step with conservatives.
"He's
not a conservative," Bush said. "For a conservative party we need to
elect a conservative. For us to fix the mess in Washington, D.C., we
have to apply conservative
principles."
Host
Fox Business News tightened the qualifying rules for Thursday's debate,
resulting in the smallest group of candidates in the headline event to
date. Also on the main
stage will be New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich,
who are battling Rubio and Bush for the establishment vote, as well as
retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, whose standing in the race has steadily
fallen.
Christie
is enjoying a burst of momentum in New Hampshire, where he's devoted
significant time to courting the state's quirky blend of moderate and
libertarian voters.
He's had strong debate performances in the past, but is likely to face
heightened scrutiny from his rivals as a result of his rise in the
first-in-the-nation primary state.
The
debate rules resulted in businesswoman Carly Fiorina being bumped to
the undercard event. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was also demoted, but is
choosing not to participate
in the early evening contest.
To
qualify for the debate, a candidate had to place in the top six in an
average of recent national polls, or in the top five in an average of
recent Iowa or New Hampshire
polls. ?
Republicans have one more debate scheduled before voting begins in Iowa, a Jan. 28 event in Des Moines.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment