Marco Rubio, who’s slipped steeply in the Iowa and New Hampshire polls, will get a chance to make up ground in Thursday’s debate without Donald Trump around. (Getty)
With a tight polling race in Iowa, the candidates will get one more chance to make their mark with the voters in tonight’s Iowa debate. It’s an important moment for every candidate, but especially so for candidates running at the back of the pack: in the Iowa caucus, a candidate must take 15 percent of caucus-goers at each caucus location, or their supporters will be forced to choose another candidate or leave.
They’ll have more chances to do so: Donald Trump, who has taken the lead in Iowa polls and shows strongly in New Hampshire and nationally, has chosen to skip the debate over his long-running feud with Fox News host and debate moderator Megyn Kelly, instead hosting a competing event on CNN. Kelly will join Bret Baier and Chris Wallace.
Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Rand Paul will appear on the main stage at 9 p.m. An earlier “undercard” debate will start at 7 p.m. and feature Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Jim Gilmore.
There are a couple of options for viewers looking to watch the town hall online. Here’s a rundown:
How to Watch the GOP Debate Online
In addition to their regular television news broadcast, Fox News will livestream the debate from their website for free without authentication. Just click here for continuing coverage until the undercard debate begins at 7 p.m.
Debate co-sponsor Google is also debuting a new service at tonight’s debate. Just Google “Fox News Debate” to vote on the top issues and see the candidates’ campaign teams post full responses in real time.
The GOP debate livestream will be mobile-compatible, so a mobile user should be able to watch without downloading an app.
How to Watch the GOP Debate on a Mobile App
If you you have log-in info for a cable or satellite subscription that includes Fox News, you can use that to watch the town hall for free on a phone, tablet or connected TV via the CNN Go app, which you can download for free in the App Store or the Google Play store.
The GOP debate livestream will be mobile-compatible, so a mobile user should be able to watch without downloading an app.