Marco Rubio and Donald Trump at the GOP New Hampshire debate. Both will join Ted Cruz and John Kasich for a debate in Detroit tonight. (Getty)
The GOP debate Thursday night will take place at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox News.
With Donald Trump holding a wide lead after the the polls and the delegate count, and several candidates dropping out or on the brink of doing so, Michigan is one of the few remaining Republican contests with significant delegates, and Detroit, one of America’s most struggling cities, is the site of the debate.
While Trump has a significant lead in delegates, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have a narrowing path to the nomination. Ben Carson bowed out earlier this week, and John Kasich will certainly face questions about doing so.
Here’s what you need to know:
DATE: March 3, 2016
TIME: 9 p.m. Eastern
CHANNEL: Fox News
MODERATORS: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace
LOCATION: Detroit, Michigan
DEBATE PREVIEW: The Detroit debate comes after Donald Trump dominated Super Tuesday, winning all but Minnesota, which went to Rubio, and three states for Cruz (including a significant number of delegates from his home state of Texas). Tonight’s debate will offer Cruz and Rubio a chance to blunt the Trump momentum and Kasich to make what may be his final case.
A few issues that may come to the fore in this debate:
- Kasich is far behind in the delegate count and buried behind the other three on-stage candidates in the polls. He’ll probably face serious questions about his political viability.
- Cruz and Rubio, especially the latter will likely need to address Trump’s wide unpopularity among the GOP establishment.
- Dteroit is less than 75 miles from Flint, site of an ongoing disaster with municipal drinking water. It’s been a topic in previous debates for both parties and will undoubtedly come up here.
GOP Primary & Debate Schedule
Debate Schedule
Florida: Date TBD, CNN/Salem Radio
Primary Schedule
Super Tuesday (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming): March 1
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine: March 5
Puerto Rico: March 6
Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi: March 8
Guam, Washington, D.C.: March 12
Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio: March 15
Virgin Islands: March 19
American Samoa, Arizona, Utah: March 22
Wisconsin: April 5
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island: April 26
Indiana: May 3
Nebraska, West Virginia: May 10
Oregon: May 17
Washington: May 24
California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota: June 7