Manchester, N.H. – Tonight's debate will be Donald Trump's first since boycotting the GOP showdown in Iowa, but the story-line in New Hampshire may not be about the boisterous billionaire.
Coverage of the debate on ABC will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday and you can livestream it here.
Here are a few things we will be watching:
Marco Rubio's rise. Polls in New Hampshire and elsewhere around the nation show Florida Sen. Marco Rubio gaining steam after his surprisingly strong third-place finish in Iowa. He's long made the case that he's the mainstream candidate with the best shot of uniting the party, and New Hampshire's Tuesday vote could be a make-or-break moment for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other establishment types. Look for them to step up their attacks on Rubio.
Donald Trump's strategy. The runner-up in Iowa who reminds crowds every chance he gets that he's atop the polls is under mounting pressure to prove himself in New Hampshire after falling short of victory in Iowa. He, too, will likely target Rubio as well as other contenders who want to take a bite out of his lead.
Ted Cruz's Southern appeal. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has mounted a low-profile campaign in New Hampshire, whose independent-minded electorate is harder for him to win over than the religious conservatives who dominate the Iowa GOP caucuses he won on Monday. But that's exactly the type of voter that dominates Republican voting blocs in South Carolina, which votes on Feb. 20, and Georgia and other Southern states with March 1 primaries. Expect him to cast his eye beyond the Granite State.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul dropped out of the race, and so have former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and ex-Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. The only major candidate not to make the stage is businesswoman Carly Fiorina. The network said the candidates had to place in the top three in Iowa or in the top six in recent New Hampshire or national polls, but Fiorina sees something more nefarious afoot. After all, she notes, she finished ahead of several candidates in Iowa invited to tonight's debate. She posted to her
that the network and the Republican National Committee were “caving to pressure from the same establishment candidates we beat who are afraid to debate me.”
Check out some of our other New Hampshire coverage:
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