How to Watch Tonight’s Republican Presidential Debate

In their final gathering before the Super Tuesday states go to the polls next week, the five remaining Republican presidential candidates gathered in Houston for a rollicking debate – with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio taking turns trying to derail Donald Trump’s front-runner status.

Donald Trump is dominating the GOP presidential field in Florida, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Here’s what to watch for tonight.

The poll diminishes Rubio’s contention that he’s the most viable establishment candidate to supplant Trump as the favorite for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

Both Rubio and Cruz said that Trump had had to pay a $1 million fine for illegal immigration hiring. But Trump unleashed a trademark insult, reminding the audience of Rubio’s “meltdown” in the New Hampshire debate.

“They are not a real estate deal”, Mr. Rubio said.

Seeking to become the Trump alternative, Cruz and Rubio have significant liabilities of their own.

The Florida senator, who’s been criticized for hanging back and letting his rivals duke it out with Trump, came loaded for bear.

But so far, neither Rubio nor Cruz has mounted a sustained attack on Trump, allowing him to emerge relatively unscathed while they try to win the mantle as Trump’s most formidable challenger.

Trump dismissed the criticism and insisted that he, as president, would force Mexico to pay for a 1,000-mile (1,610-km), $10 billion to $12 billion wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

With an attitude like that, Mr. Trump warned that Mr. Rubio would never be able to bring peace to the region.

“It seems that the Trump people like Trump no matter what he says”, said Republican strategist John Feehery.

Trump has yet to make any advertising buys on local, national, cable, broadcast or radio as of Thursday morning, according to data provided by CMAG/Kantar Media.

“Excuse me, he ran one bad campaign”, Trump said.

Texas, Cruz’s home state and the site of the debate, is among the places holding a primary on Tuesday.

A dozen dropped-out candidates, millions of dollars, and a seemingly endless number of prime-time debates after it began, the Republican Party’s brutal presidential nomination has finally entered its penultimate phase.

The Florida primary contest will be held on March 15, with 99 delegates are at stake on the Republican side.