Organizers are promising to focus on substance when eight Republicans face off on the main stage for the GOP’s fourth presidential debate.
While that’s the plan, big personalities and rising tensions in the unsettled 2016 field could make for an unpredictable Tuesday evening in Milwaukee. Donald Trump and Ben Carson are fighting to maintain their place atop the polls, while others — including Jeb Bush — are fighting for their political survival in the 9 p.m. EST event.
With the fewest number of candidates on stage so far this primary season, the candidates will have more time to make their individual cases and distinguish themselves from their rivals.
Check back often as we preview and live-blog the debate:
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7:44 p.m. – TWEET, TWEET: @BlaiseIngoglia: .@FoxBusiness doing a great job so far asking substantive policy questions regarding economy
Undercard debate – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says the United States is “on the path to socialism.” Jindal said Tuesday during the Republican undercard debate in Milwaukee that the most important question facing voters in the upcoming presidential election is whether people are willing to cut the size of the government to grow the economy. He says, “It’s not enough just to beat Hillary Clinton, we have to change the direction of our country.” He says under President Obama there is “record dependence” on welfare programs.
Undercard debate – Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum says better job training for people coming out of high school is key to strengthening the manufacturing industry. Santorum says he visits a manufacturing company once a week and finds open jobs with no one to fill them. He says too many politicians, including his fellow Republicans, wrongly think every high school graduate needs to go on to college. He says, “we need to provide opportunities for them to go to work out of high school.”
Undercard debate – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is calling for more manufacturing in the United States. Huckabee says that if we can’t “feed ourselves, fuel ourselves and fight for ourselves,” there is no freedom. Huckabee continued his call to create a “Fair Tax” that would eliminate federal income and investment taxes and replace them with a 23 percent federal sales tax. He also says he would abolish the Internal Revenue Service. Huckabee was on the main stage in the previous Republican debates, but was bumped to the early event tonight due to low polling numbers.
Undercard debate – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says if he’s elected president, he’ll “fire a whole bunch of IRS agents.” The line delivered Tuesday in response to the first question of the fourth Republican undercard debate drew applause from the audience in Milwaukee. Christie is trying to have a breakout night after being taken off the main stage. He competed with the frontrunners in the first three debates. Christie says he wants to make the tax code fairer by getting rid of all deductions except for home interest and charitable donations. He says his plan would make it so income taxes can be filed in 15 minutes.
Undercard debate – The first question of the undercard debate goes to Christie. He is asked what concrete steps he would take to create jobs. He responds with a story about a woman who approached him in New Hampshire and said she is experiencing anxiety about paying her bills. Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee were relegated to the undercard debate for the first time, because they failed to garner 2.5 percent in the four most recent national polls. Also onstage are Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
7:17 p.m. – TWEET, TWEET: @LearyReports: Person in Milwaukee says estranged Rubio pal David Rivera is there. He was at Cleveland debate.
6:09 p.m. – A Carson aide warns: We’ll respond to unfair attacks at debate, reports Daniel Strauss of POLITICO – Carson, often criticized for his low-key demeanor, is ready to punch back to any kind of attack that comes his way … “Dr. Carson is a man who believes in civility and respect. But at the same time people should not mistake that attitude for weakness. If someone were to attack him and particularly were to do so in an unfair manner, Dr. Carson will respond,” Carson deputy communications director Ying Ma said. “We will respond to all attacks that are not fair.”
6:05 p.m. – The RNC’s WiFI password at the debate? StopHillary, reports Shane Goldmacher of POLITICO – [The RNC] is having some fun with a national press corps they like to complain leans left, making every reporter to type in “StopHillary” to access the wireless network at the fourth Republican presidential debate. “We like to force the media to understand that there’s two parties at every chance we get,” RNC Chair Reince Priebus told POLITICO.
6:00 p.m. – Jeb Bush’s team has scheduled a post-debate call with donors, reports Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO – Bush donors will convene on a conference call after [the Milwaukee GOP] debate, a critical moment in the former Florida governor’s campaign… hosted by senior Bush advisers Sally Bradshaw and Tim Miller … stakes are high for Bush heading into the debate … Since stumbling in last month’s CNBC debate … [Bush] has seen his poll numbers plummet to the single digits. Since then, the Bush team has been working overtime to assure donors … that the campaign is on the right track. On one call, Bush urged his financial backers not to be “nervous Nellies.”
3:18 p.m. – The Fix offers the 3 best matches in tonight’s debate.
12:57 p.m. – Right To Rise, the super PAC backing Bush, is out with a new ad. Evidently, Bush is against “yapping.“
12:49 p.m. – Here’s the Sun Sentinel’s debate bingo game.
12:42 p.m. – The Tax Foundation offers its summary of the details and analyses of the candidates’ comprehensive tax plans.
12:39 p.m. – TIME’s Milwaukee Debate beer drinking game includes this rule: “Chew on your can if former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he eats nails for breakfast. Gently. Just a nibble. Because, come on.”
12:25 p.m. – TWEET, TWEET: .@JebBush was a “HUGE Marco fan” before getting ready to spend $20M on phony attacks
— LUNCH BREAK —
11:06 a.m. – This is a very serious issue that Marco Rubio needs to address.
10:52 a.m. – “Marco Rubio’s rivals expected to bash him for misusing charge card“
10:25 a.m. – Zeke Miller of TIME Magazine on who needs to win tonight’s debate.
10:21: a.m. – American Bridge’s Jessica Mackler and Eddie Vale break down Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and the rest of the field’s tax proposals which the organization says “are a boon to the after-tax incomes of billionaire donors like the Koch brothers, but leave American middle class families high and dry.”
10:18: a.m. – NARAL Pro-Choice American is reveling in the possibility of Jeb Bush vs. Marco Rubio.
9:38 a.m. – Heading into tonight’s debate, Carson remains the most popular candidate among Republicans, despite persistent questions about his statements, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll reveals this morning. Seventy-one percent of Republicans view Carson favorably, as do 50 percent of Americans. He’s followed by Trump, who posted a 68 percent favorability rating among GOPers. But Carson’s edge is in how intensely he is liked by GOP voters — 39 percent have a “strongly favorably” view of him compared to 26 percent for Trump. The poll was conducted last Wednesday through Sunday, meaning it didn’t capture the tail end of the furor surrounding Carson’s biography. Rubio is the only other GOP candidate not underwater with all Americans in terms of how much they like him — 41 to 37 percent. See the toplines here. — James Hohmann of the Washington Post.
9:26 a.m. – Financial Services Roundtable has a new poll out this morning in conjunction with Morning Consult finding that “nearly 68 percent of American workers say 2016 presidential candidates have not been talking enough about ensuring Americans have a secure retirement.” Via Ben White of POLITICO.
9:24 a.m. – Here’s the New York Times guide to what to watch for: “Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee will bring the eight leading contenders together at a time when two are confronting questions about their pasts, one faces mounting doubts about his seriousness, and another who began the race as a favorite is under intense pressure to show he can be as forceful as he was cracked up to be. Yet their ability to address those problems could actually depend on whether Fox Business Network, the host of the debate, fails to deliver on its promises for a policy-driven evening focused on sober economic issues.”
9:20 a.m. – TWEET, TWEET: @McKayCoppins: Jeb could easily call it off tonight onstage.”I sure hope that report isn’t true. I don’t want to win w/ attack ads”
9:04 a.m. – NBC News’ Chuck Todd asks: Will Trump go after Carson? So Bush-vs.-Rubio (again!) is one of tonight’s storylines. Another is that Donald Trump is likely to come after Ben Carson. In fact, Trump previewed his line of attack on “Meet the Press” last Sunday. “Well, I feel badly for Ben. I’ve gotten to like Ben. And it’s a tough thing. I mean, he writes a book where he went after his mother, hit her on the head, or wanted to hit her on the head with a hammer. Hitting a friend in the face with a lock, with a padlock, hard in the face, stabbing somebody, only to be broken up by a belt buckle,” Trump said. “And when he writes that he has pathological disease in a book, now he obviously wrote this book prior to thinking about running for office, I assume. But he said he has pathological disease.” Our prediction: Trump senses weakness, and he’s going for it.
8:41 a.m. – “Because of his low polling numbers, Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham was not invited to take part in Tuesday night’s GOP debate in Milwaukee. As an alternative, Graham will provide his own live responses to the debate questions on the social media platform Sidewire. Graham will be in New Hampshire, giving his responses. Most of the rest of the field will be in Wisconsin for the Fox Business/Wall Street Journal event.” — The Post and Courier
8:38 a.m. @SaintPetersBlog: @JebBush does not need to hit a home run. He just needs to hit singles and doubles.
8:33 a.m. – “During tonight’s presidential debate the American Action Network is running to ads on Fox Business Network to whack Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Richard Cordray and the CFPB and bring Dodd-Frank into the presidential conversation. Featuring an unsubtle communist theme with Warren and Cordray posters looming over a sweatshop-like CFPB, we’re guessing this one is going to create a bit of a stir. AAN is spending $500,000 to run the ad seven times tonight, on D.C. cable this week and on online advertising.” — Burgess Everett of POLITICO
8:37 a.m. – In anticipation of attacks, possibly during tonight’s debate, the Rubio campaign has released this web ad showing Bush praising him.
6:45 a.m. – POLITICO offers its 5 things to watch in tonight’s debate, including – A Bush-Cruz tag-team? … Campaign insiders are abuzz about the possibility that the two candidates, who are running in opposite lanes of the primary, could team up to take down Marco Rubio. … Rubio is a competitor to both, making a play for the establishment vote Bush is seeking and the conservative support that Cruz is trying to lock up. Both have gone after Rubio in recent days. …Bush … has given no indication he plans to let up. … [C]ampaign manager Danny Diaz, an operative steeped in the art of oppo research, has privately expressed a desire to continue jabbing. Rubio’s team says he’ll be ready: The senator has been holding debate practice sessions led by longtime adviser Todd Harris. … On Wednesday, Diaz, along with Bush fundraiser Heather Larrison, held a conference call with New York donors to discuss the path forward. … Bush, Diaz said, … was now getting help from veteran Republican image guru and Roger Ailes adviser Jon Kraushar – and said supporters should expect a better performance.
6:16 a.m. – POLITICOs Mike Allen and Marc Caputo rundown the things to look for in Tuesday night’s Republican presidential primary debate hosted by Fox Business. Watch here.
6:15 a.m. – TWEET, TWEET: @dmataconis – I guess I need to figure out where Fox Business Network is on my cable system before tonight
6:00 a.m. – FOR DEBATE, FOX BUSINESS AIMS TO BE THE ANTI-CNBC via Hadas Gold of POLITICO – Fox Business Network … has its claws out — not for the candidates, as its moderators vow to stick closely to the issues, but for its more famous competitor CNBC … FBN moderators Cavuto and Bartiromo insisted … that they are aiming to be quite different from CNBC — and seemed to share the sense that CNBC’s questions veered from the strict substance of the issues. “My goal is to make myself invisible,” Cavuto, one of three moderators for the prime-time debate, said … “That I’m not the issue. … That we’re not the issue. The answers to what we’re raising become the issue.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this post.
