The final Republican debate of 2015 will air tonight on CNN, live from Las Vegas, Nevada. Wolf Blitzer will host the primetime event with nine of the top candidates. Four more candidates will appear during an earlier broadcast at 6pm ET. See all the details below including air time and live stream link. The first Republican debate of 2016 will happen on January 14.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
CNN Republican Debate in Las Vegas
Live Stream: CNN.com
Moderator: Wolf Blitzer
Primetime Debate
8:30pm ET (7:30pm CT, 5:30pm PT)
Candidates: Trump, Carson, Rubio, Cruz, Bush, Kasich, Christie, Fiorina, Paul
Undercard Debate
6pm ET (5pm CT, 3pm PT)
Candidates: Huckabee, Santorum, Graham, Pataki
Things to watch for:
Ted Cruz – This will be the first debate where Cruz is essentially center stage, though is just off center since the total of 9 candidates puts Trump in the middle. Cruz will get more face time and more questions, he’ll also likely be attacked on several fronts by several candidates, Trump possibly included.
Cruz/Rubio – Rubio also has a prominent podium position and will likely come out strong though perhaps save his biggest hits for January. Rubio is taking the approach that he doesn’t want to peak too soon so he’s ok with Cruz and Trump currently holding the spotlight.
Trump/Cruz – Will the truce finally end between these two? Cruz made some comments at a private fundraiser which were critical of Trump, to which Trump responded though Cruz deflected the whole thing and refused to engage. I actually suspect we may hear very little between these two unless Trump attacks Cruz first.
Report from CNN:
Call it the Republican establishment’s nightmare scenario.
The GOP establishment, confronted by a recalcitrant electorate that refuses to leave Donald Trump, is being forced to take a fresh look at Ted Cruz, a man with grassroots strength in key early primary states and few friends in Washington.
Suddenly, the Republican Party’s best hope could be a man hell-bent on transforming it: a senator who openly spars with fellow GOP colleagues, and has campaigned by painting its leaders as spineless and feeble.
Headed into Tuesday’s CNN Republican presidential debate, Cruz and Trump have turned Iowa into a two-man race, with the Texan leading in two new polls. Cruz is up 31% to Trump’s 21% among likely GOP caucus-goers, according to the Bloomberg Politics-Des Moines Register poll released Saturday. A Fox News poll Sunday has Cruz leading Trump 28% to 26%.
A small and growing number of Republicans allied with the establishment — the force long thought to quickly consolidate against a surging Cruz bid — are coming to terms with the idea that he may be palatable in an election cycle where Trump has pushed the envelope well beyond what they considered acceptable.
“Oh God, yes,” said Ed Rogers, a top Republican lobbyist, when asked if he’d prefer Cruz. “Compared to Trump, he’s OK.”
We’ll have the full debate videos after they both air. As noted, both debate broadcasts will be streamed live at CNN.com, no login or subscription necessary.
