4 don’ts for volunteers at tonight’s GOP debate

And Rubio’s campaign reported spending less than most others.

They readily admit that what Trump does will determine the character of the debate.

Fox News had earlier said it would not allow candidates whose average poll numbers were lower than 1 percent.

One of the candidates with the most to lose in Thursday’s debate might be Cruz – who has spent years building a reputation as a hard-edged fighter, only to be overshadowed by the even-edgier Trump.

Within a few minutes of his first debate as a Republican presidential candidate, Trump refused to rule out a third-party run for the White House, ridiculed comedian Rosie O’Donnell and griped about his treatment by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.

“He will be successful if he is able to sustain his favorability ratings”, MacManus said. Trump has, by far, the highest familiarity of any of the 16 candidates, but a familiarity that is based more on his history as a businessman and media personality than on anything political. But the candidates just don’t know whether those questions will also be framed in a way that sets off disputes between the contenders.

And, in the middle of the stage, a real-estate mogul and reality-TV star who has managed to stand out in the most crowded primary-field in memory. But Trump would probably say it better.

Former Texas Gov. Perry and, to a lesser degree, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are two candidates with a significant discrepancy between their images among Republicans and their failure to be included in the prime-time debate. “That’s what prepping for this debate is like”, an adviser to Kasich wrote on Twitter last week. Perry and Huckabee, both former governors from adjacent states, not only have similar net favorable scores but also similar familiarity scores.

The effect of this much-anticipated debate on the images of the Republican candidates is unpredictable at this point. “Enough of the sound bites, enough of the posturing”. But the long-term effects of these types of events are not always clear.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice, used the protest as a chance to stump for women’s rights, which she believes those that took the debate stage are clearly against, especially Kasich, who she called “the most anti-choice governor in the country”.