Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the victor of the Iowa caucuses, who he has said “stole” the victory there.
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With fewer candidates, debate host ABC News scrapped an undercard debate for low-polling hopefuls.
The latest debate ultimately fetched 12.5 million viewers for FNC on January 28.
An aggrieved Donald Trump returns to the debate stage Saturday night hoping to find his way into the winner’s circle in New Hampshire, while a rising Marco Rubio looks to fend off an onslaught of attacks from his rivals.
Saturday evening’s ABC News/Independent Journal Review debate was the most-watched of the 2016 calendar year, according to overnight data from Nielsen Media Research. Which is why supporters of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have put out an ad in New Hampshire that insists “nearly every political leader in Florida of stature who knows Marco and Jeb’s records have joined us in endorsing Governor Bush”.
Cruz went on that evening to defeat real estate magnate Donald Trump for Iowa’s delegates. The episode was among a number of fumbles from the field in the intense confrontation before Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Businesswoman Carly Fiorina did not meet the ABC qualifications for the debate and despite her appeals to the Republican National Committee, it does not appear she will be among the attendees.
Trump passed on that gathering because he was still steamed over the tough questions that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly asked him in the first debate on August 6.
Who’s in: Here are the candidates participating in the primetime debate and their website links.
The unexpected conflict between the two presidential candidates started the night of the caucuses, when CNN reported Carson would not immediately travel to New Hampshire for the primary’s second contest.
ABC’s Republican matchup also far surpassed MSNBC’s Democratic debate earlier in the week.
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The next GOP debate will take place on Saturday, February 13 at The Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina, and will air on CBS News, moderated by John Dickerson.
