BuzzFeed News’s McKay Coppins and Rosie Gray are reporting from the debate in Boulder, Colorado.
John Minchillo / AP
- The third Republican Presidential debate kicked off at 8 p.m. ET on CNBC. It will last about two hours.
- It features businessman Donald Trump, former surgeon Ben Carson, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Rand Paul, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
- There will be a focus on Carson, who has taken a lead in several major polls. Look for the moderators to directly question him and for other candidates to challenge him.
- Donald Trump, who remains a wildcard, will also be in the spotlight. He is in second place in most polls.
- There's also significant pressure on institutional candidates, such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, to put on a strong performance.
- There was also a 6 p.m. "undercard" debate featuring Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, and Lindsey Graham.
The top contenders for the Republican nomination for president faced off in their third debate Wednesday evening, the first of the campaign season where Ben Carson was largely leading in the polls.
The candidates were first asked what their greatest weakness is. Bush has perhaps the most honest answer, politically speaking, by saying he "can't fake anger." Trump said it was "hard to forgive people that deceive me." And Cruz said his biggest weakness is that he's a "fighter."
One of the most anticipated exchanges came early: Sen. Marco Rubio defended his voting record in the Senate — following an editorial published by the Sun-Sentinel, calling on the Florida Senator to resign because he is missing votes while campaigning — and Jeb Bush used the question to attack his once protege.
"I read that editorial today with great amusement," said Rubio, pointing to former Sens. John Kerry and Barack Obama who ran for president without resigning. "It's evidence of the great bias that exists in American media today."
Bush then attacked Rubio for missing votes in the Senate, referring to him as "Marco," and calling the workload in the Senate "a French work week."
Rubio responded, "someone's convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."
Bush and Rubio, both from Florida, saw tensions grow in the past week as they polled at the same numbers and are also both considered institutional candidates.
Trump also went on the offensive early and often. He complained about the way CNBC moderators phrased a question, asking him about his "comic book campaign" and quickly moved on to attacking Ohio Gov. John Kasich for working at now defunct bank Lehman Brothers. Kasich fought back and reiterated his own tax plan.
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