GOP candidates (Screenshot: Twitter)
Just two days after front-runner Donald Trump sent the GOP into hysteria by capturing seven Super Tuesday states and tightening his grip on the nomination, the four remaining Republican candidates will appear in Detroit, Michigan, at what's likely to be another intense debate Thursday evening.
Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and John Kasich will face off in the event hosted by Fox News beginning at 9 p.m. EST at the Fox Theatre. Fox News' Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace will moderate. The event will be broadcast on Fox News and livestreamed at FoxNews.com.
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As WND reported, Dr. Ben Carson has announced he will not appear at the debate, as he now appears ready to take his struggling campaign off life support. A poor showing on Super Tuesday – he didn't receive more than 10 percent support in any state – convinced him that a come-from-behind victory is impossible.
On Super Tuesday, Trump won Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts and Vermont. Cruz captured Oklahoma, Alaska and Texas. Rubio took Minnesota. Kasich averaged about 8.5 percent of the vote across all 11 races.
Trump declined to participate in Fox News' Jan. 28 debate in protest of the network's statement mocking him for his ongoing dispute with Kelly. Several media reports indicated Trump considered being a no-show at Thursday's debate as well. A "highly placed source" told New York Magazine that the billionaire's absence could send a message that Trump no longer considers Cruz and Rubio credible rivals for the GOP nomination. Depriving the network of high ratings would also be a blow to Kelly and Fox News chief Roger Ailes, the source said. According to the report, Trump changed his mind "because he wanted to maintain the element of surprise."
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Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the Washington Post the GOP front-runner "look forward to participating."
Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan (Photo: Twitter)
Baier told Michigan Live the biggest challenge will be keeping the four candidates on topic rather than allowing them to get caught up in personal attacks.
"It's gonna be tough," Baier said. "I think we just witnessed a couple weeks of campaigning where it got pretty personal."
He continued, "We're going to try to keep them on topic, try to have exchange that contrasts the candidates, but on policy ideally. Obviously you can't control it all, and we are going to let them breathe a bit, but we'll also try to keep it on the rails."
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As for Trump's feud with Kelly, Baier said, "Hopefully it's water under the bridge and we move on. It's not a focus for us, and hopefully it won't be a focus for him."
Kelly had nothing but praise for the billionaire businessman and his speech to supporters about his Super Tuesday wins.
"[He's] striking a reasonable tone," she said. "He wasn't full of the normal bombast. There were a few jabs, but sounding presidential, which will help some of his detractors see him in a different light, perhaps."
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The GOP debate takes place on the same day former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scheduled to make a major speech regarding the 2016 election.
A press release said the former Massachusetts governor will deliver comments from Utah on "the state of the 2016 presidential race." Romney has been on the warpath against Trump for one week, even going so far as to suggest – without proof – that a "bombshell" may lurk in the billionaire's taxes.
Radio host Rush Limbaugh said it "boggles the mind" to think elites in Washington, D.C., would use Romney in an attempt to derail Trump's campaign.
"One of the three-prong strategies [for the GOP establishment is] to wait it out and hope that Trump doesn't get to 1,237 [delegates needed to clinch the nomination]. There's another part of that strategy. If it looks like that might happen, Romney [would] enter the race at the end, like before the California primary, and go in there and actually having contested as a candidate. And then the party unites and coalesces around Romney," Limbaugh said. "I kid you not. This is an establishment dream. There are some in the Republican Party to whom that is the solution."
"It boggles the mind. They're gonna send Romney out there to ring the warning bell," Limbaugh added. "But of all people to send out this warning? To describe what they're doing, you can't avoid sounding mean, unbelieving. It's really hard. Why don't they send [Arizona Sen. John] McCain out? Why don't they send [Bob] Dole out?"
The Michigan Republican Party has received more than 21,000 ticket requests for the event, according to the Detroit News. But only 50 tickets will be randomly awarded to members of the public. The state party will be given 400 tickets, and 350 of those will be distributed to elected officials, state committee members and grassroots activists. Tickets will also be distributed to Michigan members of the Republican National Committee and the presidential candidates.
Michigan's primary will be held on March 8, and 59 Republican delegates are at stake.
To win the party nomination, GOP candidates need 1,237 delegates. After Super Tuesday, 1,777 remain available.
