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 Many of the 11 candidates who will be at a prime-time debate (5
p.m. PDT/8 p.m. EDT) see a path for themselves to the Republican
nomination for the November 2016 election, and any route they take
will require getting out of the long shadow cast by Trump.
For that reason, the gathering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library, with the stage set up next to the retired Air Force One
aircraft used by the late president, figures to be a more combative
debate than the first one the Republicans had on Aug. 6 in
Cleveland.
Trump had been in the lead in polls of Republican voters at the
first debate and grabbed the headlines through a mixture of boastful
promises and by ridiculing his rivals, many of whom turned in
relatively passive performances.
This time Republicans have a greater incentive to take him on and
try to raise doubts about him since Trump has built on his lead,
with four months to go until Iowa on Feb. 1 holds the first
nominating contest on the road to the November 2016 election.
The latest Reuters-Ipsos opinion poll has Trump leading among
Republican voters with 32.2 percent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson
was at 15.8 percent, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 9 percent
and the rest of the field below 6 percent.
Trump has dismissed the possibility of being attacked at the debate.
"I hear they are going after me. Whatever. Whatever," Trump said at
a lively campaign rally in Dallas on Monday.
The debate is being staged by CNN with correspondents Jake Tapper
and Dana Bash posing questions, along with conservative radio host
Hugh Hewitt.
It was Hewitt who trumped Trump earlier this month. During an
interview with the New York businessman, Hewitt gave Trump what
amounted to a pop quiz about Islamic militants and other Middle
Eastern figures. Trump did not fare well in answering.
The face-off will be the first time Trump has been on stage with
former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who made it to the
prime-time stage by starring at an undercard event in Cleveland.
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Trump last week was quoted by Rolling Stone magazine as saying of
Fiorina: "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?" He later
said he was talking about her "persona."
Fiorina has turned the attack into a vehicle for raising campaign
dollars. "Don't you agree that in a presidential campaign, issues
matter? Not personal appearance," said a Fiorina fund-raising
appeal.
In a sign of how fluid the Republican race is, a CBS News/New York
Times poll said 63 percent of Republican voters had not yet made a
final choice on who they would support in the race.
Bush, the Republican establishment candidate once considered a heavy
favorite for the nomination, has made clear that if given the chance
he will raise questions about Trump's past support of Democratic
positions like higher taxes.
At the prime-time debate will be Trump, Carson, Bush, Scott Walker,
Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, John Kasich, Chris
Christie and Fiorina.
Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki and Lindsey Graham will
participate in an undercard debate at 3 p.m. PDT/6 p.m. EDT).
For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog, “Tales
from the Trail” (http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/).
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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