LIVE! The big Republican debate
(Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
Eleven candidates have taken the stage at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Wednesday night for the second round of Republican presidential debates.
We'll be live blogging the debate right here.
CNN changed its debate criteria to allow former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who was excluded from Fox News' main debate in August, to join the same 10 candidates who took the top-tier stage last month.
Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, and George Pataki participated in the lower-tier debate earlier this evening.
That leaves Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, and, of course, Donald Trump.
According to Real Clear Politics' average of six recent national polls, Trump is leading the pack at 29.8% (up from 24.3% before August's debate), followed by the retired neurosurgeon Carson at 17.8% (up from 5.8%) and Bush, the former Florida governor, at 7.8% (down from 12.5%).
Here's how the rest of them stand:
Ted Cruz, US senator from Texas: 6.7% (up from 5.5%)
Marco Rubio, US senator from Florida: 5.8% (up from 5.3%)
Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor: 4.3% (down from 6.8%)
Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett Packard CEO: 4.3% (up from 1.3%)
Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor: 3.8% (down from 9.5%)
John Kasich, Ohio governor: 3.5% (up from 2.8%)
Rand Paul, US senator from Kentucky: 2.7% (down from 4.5%)
Chris Christie, New Jersey governor: 2.0% (down from 3.5%)
Wednesday night's debate will be moderated by CNN correspondents Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, as well as conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Check below for updates throughout:
8:55 p.m. — Huckabee asked about Kim Davis, the clerk from Kentucky who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, "The courts cannot legislate ... We've made accomodations to detainees at Gitmo. You're tellling me we can't make accomodations to a Kentucky county clerk?
8:50 p.m. — Cruz says, turning to Iran deal, "Anyone paying attention to what Khamenei is saying knows Iran will not comply with the terms of the nuclear deal. If you vote for Hillary, you are voting for the Ayatollah to possess a nuclear weapon."
8:49 p.m. — Paul, on Syria — "Every time we've tried to topple a dictator, we’ve gotten chaos. We need to reflect on whether our interventions have backfired before we do it again."
8:48 p.m. — Hugh Hewitt takes over question, asking the senators about Syria. Rubio — "The US military wasn't built to engage in 'pinpick' attracks. The US is not going to authorize force in a fight we are not going to win."
8:46 p.m. — Huckabee, staying with foreign policy, says about Iran, "This is about the survival of western civilization ... This threatens Israel, the entire Middle East, and the US."
8:45 p.m. — Bush says "We need to be strong against China. We should use offensive tactics to send a deterrent signal to China. There should be stiffer sanctions than what Obama has proposed. We can be much stronger."
Bush said he would not tear up the Iran deal. He also brings up Israel — "We need to send a signal to Iran that we have Israel's back."
8:43 p.m. — Asked about China and Obama's upcoming meeting with Xi, Paul stresses communication. "With China, I don't think we need to be rash or reckless — I think we need to be open to communication."
Paul also said he wouldn't tear up the deal, and would let it play out to see if it worked, but said he would be voting against it as a senator.
8:42 p.m. — Kasich also blasts deal, but would let it stand. "This agreement — we don't know what will happen in 18 months … If they cheat, we slap the sanctions back on."
8:40 p.m. — Staying in foreign policy, Cruz moves it to Iran. "This Iranian nuclear deal is nothing short of catastrophic. If I am elected president on the very first day in office I will rip it to shreds. This is a catastrophic deal."
8:38 p.m. — Fiorina also gets applause for her foreign policy answer, opening that she has met with Putin and we shouldn't speak with him.
"I wouldn’t talk to Putin at all, we've talked too much to him. Russia is a bad actor, but we should not talk to Putin — the only way he will stop is to sense strength and resolve on the other side."
8:36 p.m. — Rubio gets applause for remarks on Russia — "Putin wants to reposition Russia as a geopolitical force. He will turn to other nations in the region and tell them to rely on Russia, instead of on the US. This president is allowing Putin to become the biggest power broker in the Middle East."
8:35 p.m. — The conversation pivots to foreign policy, specifically Russia and Vladimir Putin. Trump says "Putin has absolutely no respect for presiden Obama. Syria is a mess. We're fighting ISIS, ISIS wants to fight Syria, why are we fighting ISIS in syria. I would talk to Putin. I would get along with a lot of the world leaders that this country is not getting along with right now. I would get along with Putin, and we would have a much more stable world."
8:32 p.m. — Bush says, speaking about bringing casino gambling to Florida, "The one guy who tried to get me to change my values by giving me money was Donald Trump."
Trump responds, "Right now, from special interests, I could have double or triple what Bush has got. I've turned it down. I am not accepting any money from anybody — nobody has control over me other than the people of this country."
Bush swung back with Trump's support of Hillary Clinton, who attended his wedding, and Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
After an brief argument, Trump says, "You’ve got more energy tonight, I like that, but it was my business obligation to get along with everyone."
8:30 p.m. — Former HP CEO Fiorina says, "People are supporting outsider candidates because no one [in the system] will challenge the status quo. A leader challenges the status quo. This is about changing the system."
8:28 p.m. — Speaking about the rise of outsider candidates such as Trump and Carson, Christie says, "As far as being an outsider is concerned, I am a Republican in New Jersey — I wake up every morning as an outsider ... as a conservative trying to bring conservative change to a state that needed it desperately."
"I will be the vessel through which Americans can change this country."
8:26 p.m. — Kasich attempts to rein back the conversation, "If I was sitting at home watching this back and forth, I’d be inclined to turn it off … We don’t want all this fighting, It’s important that we get to the issues."
8:24 p.m. — Speaking about his potential to control a nuclear arsenal, Bush says, "You can’t just insult leaders around the world ... You have to have a steady hand."
8:22 p.m. — Paul's response to Trump's critique — "I am concerned about him having control over nuclear weapons because of his visceral response to attacking people based on their appearance ... We’re not in junior high anymore."
Trump replied, "I haven't attacked your appearance, but trust me if I wanted to there'd be plenty of subject matter."
8:20 p.m. — Tapper starts off with a question for Fiorina, with a question about Trump's abilty to serve as president. She defers to the voters to answer the questions.
The question is directed to Trump, who blasts Paul — "Rand Paul should not even be on this stage."
8:10 p.m. — Here we go! Candidates have 30 seconds to introduce themselves.
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