The spotlight – and target – is on Cruz in the last GOP debate of 2015
LAS VEGAS — The last GOP presidential debate of 2015 doesn’t begin until Tuesday night, but it’s already clear that when the candidates take the stage, their gloves will be off. With less than 50 days until the first voters start weighing in, there are still nine candidates in the top tier, and they are all looking for ways to either move up or break away from the pack.
As he has since July, Donald Trump remains the frontrunner, but Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been enjoying a recent surge in the polls, both nationally and in key early states. With that rise, Cruz will likely find several other candidates coming at him hard. Trump and Cruz initially enjoyed a cordial relationship in this campaign – even appearing together at a rally on Capitol Hill – despite the fact that they are both fighting for the Republican Party’s conservative wing.
Cruz’s momentum over the past month, as Ben Carson supporters migrated to his side, has led Trump to target the senator, branding him a “maniac” this past weekend. Cruz has tried to defuse the tension, but Trump’s improbable stretch as frontrunner has continued in part because of his willingness to attack opponents. Throughout the year, Trump has touted his dominance in polls and made it a key part of his brand. He will fight hard to avoid slipping into second place.
Trump likely won’t be the only one eager to throw shade onto Cruz’s newfound spotlight. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are vying for the support of voters who are more comfortable with the GOP establishment. That makes Cruz a comfortable punching bag for them — the two were already taking shots at him before his recent rise. Look for that to continue tonight. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson briefly threatened Trump’s frontrunner status earlier n the fall. However, the Carson boomlet collapsed quickly amid a series of imprudent or inaccurate remarks, and questions about his basic knowledge of foreign policy and security issues. Carson remains in the top four, but he will need a strong showing Tuesday night to stop the bleeding. The challenge is amplified for Carson because foreign policy is seen as one of his major weaknesses and is a major focus of the debate.
That’s good news for Rubio, for whom foreign policy has been a major focus. The Florida senator’s confident performances in previous debates have not yet been sufficient to propel him to the front of the field, and he hasn’t seen the type of surge enjoyed by Cruz and Carson. Rubio, also in the top four, will want to break out tonight. His effort will likely be complicated by the fact that several of his rivals, including Cruz and Christie, have attempted to attack him recently. He may need to evade their jabs on stage.
While Trump, Cruz, Carson and Rubio are the headliners, there will be a total of nine candidates on the stage in Las Vegas. For the GOP long shots, tonight is absolutely crucial. Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul are all polling in single digits and desperately need a big night to avoid falling out of contention entirely. The question is whether they will try to make their marks by attacking their opponents or by trying to go above the fray, taking aim at Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
