GOP steels itself for uncertainty in White House race

Republicans are steeling themselves for a long period of uncertainty following a raucous first debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. There are no signs that Thursday’s debate will winnow their wide-open field anytime soon. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Before the campaign got underway, Republican Party leaders developed a streamlined set of debates and a nomination calendar that aimed to avoid a messy fight. But few envisioned a field of 17 candidates, the explosion of outside money that…