7 things to watch for in tonight’s GOP debate — VIDEO
SIMI VALLEY, California — Donald Trump will play the lead role in the second Republican presidential debate tonight — but his rivals are jockeying to steal his spotlight.
As the GOP's frontrunner, Trump will once again take center stage at CNN's debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. With Reagan's Air Force One as the backdrop, Trump will be flanked by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been increasingly eager to take on the combative businessman.
Here are seven things to watch in tonight's debate:
WHAT WILL TRUMP SAY THIS TIME?
At last month's GOP debate, the wealthy real estate magnate had the audience both booing and cheering within minutes of taking the stage, when he refused to rule out a third-party run and took a shot at comedian Rosie O'Donnell.
His unorthodox performance has only fueled his popularity — his national numbers have gone up and he's leading in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire. But while Trump will no doubt deliver another explosive performance Wednesday, the debate stage this week will probably feel more hostile than last time.
In the six weeks since the first debate in Ohio, Trump's rivals including Bush, Carson, Fiorina and Rand Paul have grown more confrontational, more willing to air their grievances against the frontrunner.
"Donald Trump is the debate's Rorschach test -- every competitor sees something different in him," said Ron Nehring, Ted Cruz's California state chairman. "Now that things are getting more serious and some of the weaker candidates are under financial pressure to move up or drop out, it will be interesting to see how they respond."
TRUMP VS. FIORINA
With a standout performance at the first GOP debate and a subsequent uptick in the polls, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO won a spot at the main debate alongside her top-ranking rivals. With her quick, effortless delivery and sharp attack lines, Fiorina seems one of the best equipped in Wednesday's lineup to take Trump head-on.
Dan Pfeiffer, former adviser to President Barack Obama, said Monday on "The Lead" that Trump may be better off staying away from Fiorina altogether.
"She is potentially the biggest threat to his being the nominee because she has all the resume of the outsider, not in elected office, but has more traditional experience — seems less risky than Donald Trump or Ben Carson," Pfeiffer said.
Off stage, a battle between the two rivals is already brewing.
"She goes down as one of the worst (CEOs) ever," Trump said last week, a reference to Fiorina's controversial tenure as the CEO of HP. The company was back in the headlines Tuesday, announcing plans to slash some 25,000 to 30,000 jobs.
WHAT HAND WILL CARSON PLAY?
A Seventh Day Adventist, Carson speaks openly about his spiritual beliefs on the campaign trail. His appeal to evangelicals is proving to be particularly potent in a state like Iowa, which has a sizeable population of born-again Christians.
It's also providing a contrast against Trump, whose religious background has recently come under scrutiny.
"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life and that's a very big part of who I am. I don't get that impression with him," Carson said of Trump last week. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't get that."
THE BUSH REBOOT
Under fire from Trump for lacking charisma, Bush is trying to ditch his old self. The new Bush is more confrontational, personable and energetic. The reboot signals an acknowledgment that taking the backseat and waiting for Trump's campaign to implode is — at least right now — a losing game.
The second debate comes at a particularly crucial time for Bush. Once presumed to be the party's frontrunner, his national numbers are now stuck in the single digits. The question is whether his efforts will translate in front of the cameras on Wednesday, particularly next to Trump's colorful personality.
As Bush attempts to be a more assertive candidate on the trail, the pro-Bush super PAC, Right to Rise, is laying down $24 million for ad buys in Iowa and New Hampshire.
CAN SCOTT WALKER SALVAGE HIS CAMPAIGN?
The Wisconsin governor has lost his lead in Iowa, a state now dominated by Trump. Only 3% of GOP caucus-goers in the Hawkeye State said they were supporting Walker in a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
His national prospects have also taken a serious hit: His support has dropped to 2% from 11% earlier in the summer, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post survey.
Walker is promising a more memorable performance tonight: "We're going to step it up and be more aggressive this time," he told CNN over the weekend.
A SPOTLIGHT ON FOREIGN POLICY
The alarming headlines emerging from Europe about a deteriorating refugee crisis will serve as a real-time foreign policy test tonight.
It's a politically thorny issue for both Republicans and Democrats, with the public split on how the country should respond to the flood of migrants fleeing chaos in countries such as Syria and Iraq. While more than half of Americans support the U.S. taking in some of the refugees, that view is far less popular among Republicans, with 55% of them opposing that idea, according to a new CNN poll this week.
Asked whether the U.S. should consider letting more refugees enter the country on CNN's "The Lead" on Monday, Carson warned that doing so would pose a terrorism risk.
"We don't know who those people are, and the majority of them are young males, and they could easily be people who could be infiltrated by terrorists," Carson said.
DO OR DIE FOR THE UNDERCARDS
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry became the first GOP candidate to end his White House campaign last week after languishing for months at the bottom of the polls. His exit, coming just a few months out from the first caucus, was a gut-check moment for the other bottom-tier hopefuls: The clock is ticking.
The four lowest polling candidates to participate in the 6 p.m. "undercard" debate are Graham, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal and George Pataki. A lackluster performance Wednesday could doom these underfunded and lesser-known candidates.
