Republican debate to highlight party’s fractured field

Cruz’s recent polling surge has thrust him into a two-man race with Trump in Iowa while he closes the gap with the GOP front-runner nationally – and as the race has tightened, the rhetoric has escalated.

Cruz countered in his WRKO interview.

While Rubio is now the strongest, polling in third place in Iowa and second place in New Hampshire, he has yet to break through in any one state and rivals have raised questions about his rather lackadaisical schedule on the campaign trail. Take just 30 seconds and sign up for WND’s Email News Alerts! Marco Rubio of Florida and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Paul qualified for the 6 p.m. undercard debate, as did Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Kentucky Sen.

Trump has been careful, though, not to directly criticize Cruz.

Perceived lack of experience emerges as a potential weakness for 44-year-old first term senator Rubio, though he is less than a year younger than the 45-year-old Cruz, also a first term senator. The question has never been tested in court.

The big if is whether Trump’s supporters will show up. You have kind people – kind-hearted people – that are angry. Cruz’s campaign believes that virtually all constitutional scholars, except Tribe, say he is eligible for the presidency since he was born to a mother who is an American citizen.

What do YOU think?

The coming Iowa caucuses will likely winnow the GOP field and the debate airing tonight might do the same. Sound off in today’s WND poll! For the past week, Cruz has tried to brush off Trump’s broadsides as political silliness, but on Tuesday he suggested Trump’s comments reflected his cozy relationship with prominent Democrats.

“Right now Donald Trump is losing to Hillary Clinton in national polls”, Cruz said. “And listen, The Donald seems to be a little bit rattled”.

Cruz also went after Trump in an interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt – the same forum where Trump stumbled when the host peppered him with questions about world leaders and terrorists.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz holds a small lead over billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa, less than three weeks before the nation’s first nominating contest, according to a new poll.

Like the reporting you see here? As it stands, when the race is narrowed to a three-way clash between Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, both Cruz and Trump gain roughly the same number of voters as Rubio: Trump rises to 45%, Cruz to 30% and Rubio to 21% – increases of 9, 10 and 10 points respectively.

The poll’s findings suggest that Trump is inspiring new interest in the Republican caucuses: 29 percent of those in the survey say they’ll be attending the caucuses for the first time.

Rubio has responded by questioning Cruz’s own consistency on immigration and Christie’s more moderate past on guns and abortion – but he has been put on the defensive more often than not. The same three polls all show Donald Trump maintaining his lead by between 11 and 20 points, with Marco Rubio between second and fifth. Bush dropped to 4.7 percent. Half of Rubio’s supporters say they’re backing someone they consider an establishment candidate, while 27 percent say they’re supporting an anti-establishment one.