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 Trump, 69, has won three of the first four contests in the
nomination fight for the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic
President Barack Obama. After easily defeating his rivals in Nevada
on Tuesday, the New York billionaire businessman is in position for
more victories on March 1, when a dozen states will vote on "Super
Tuesday."
At a CNN-hosted debate at the University of Houston, Trump's rivals
will have one of their last best chances to try to derail the
blunt-spoken political outsider before the Super Tuesday contests.
Whether they can pull it off is an open question. On stage with
Trump will be U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, U.S. Senator Ted
Cruz of Texas, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon
Ben Carson. None have been able to slow Trump's momentum in previous
debates.
"Trump is on cruise control," said Eric Fehrnstrom, a former senior
adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. He said Trump should
ignore his opponents and focus on the key planks in his platform - a
border wall to keep out illegal immigrants, a stronger military,
defeating Islamic State and fair trade.
 "It's getting late in the game for everyone else. People who are
expecting a sudden shift in the direction of the race are deluding
themselves. Trump is Goliath, and we've seen enough of the other
candidates to know there are no Davids in this field," Fehrnstrom
said.
Rubio, 44, has an added incentive to change the makeup of the race.
He is scrambling to attract the financial donors who supported
one-time establishment favorite Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the
race after his disappointing finish in South Carolina on Saturday.
'BOMBSHELL?'
Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, held a conference
call with his top donors on Wednesday. A donor on the call said Bush
offered effusive thanks for their support but provided no direction
on who they should now help.
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Cruz, 45, enters the debate under pressure. He must do well in his
home state of Texas on Super Tuesday. Recently, he has been accused
by his rivals of using negative tactics, including one that led to
the resignation of his spokesman, Rick Tyler.
Romney, who has yet to endorse a Republican candidate, offered a
pathway for attacking Trump, telling Fox News on Wednesday that
Trump was bound to have a "bombshell" in his tax records.
"The reason I think there is a bombshell in there is because every
time he is asked about his taxes, he dodges and delays and says:
'Well we’re working on it,'" Romney said.
He added that all the candidates should release their tax records.
Trump tweeted in response: "Mitt Romney, who totally blew an
election that should have been won and whose tax returns made him
look like a fool, is now playing tough guy."
(Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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