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The second Republican presidential debate, main-stage version, ran as long as this season’s finale of The Bachelorette—but, unlike that prior piece of epic reality television, no single candidate emerged at the end with a bright red rose.

Previewing the CNN Debate

Eleven Republican candidates will face off tonight in the main debate on CNN, and four more who didn’t qualify for the prime-time event will be featured in the early “undercard” debate. There’s no shortage of advice for the candidates, suggestions on what to look for, or assessments of what they need to do to win.

Politico suggests that the candidate with the biggest stake in tonight’s debate is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker:

Scott Walker’s last best chance

Scott Walker needs to reassure his ... Read More >>

The early debates of a presidential primary campaign, though they take place months before the first nominating contests, are a powerful force in shaping the campaign, elevating some candidates while helping drive others from the race.

Is voter anger behind the Trump and Sanders surges? Maybe yes.

Here, I think, is a common view of this year’s presidential primary, courtesy of the Washington Post’s Philip Rucker:

This has become the summer of the political outsider, as a cast of interlopers upend and dominate the presidential nominating process in both parties.

At this (still-early) stage, no Re­pub­lic­an pres­id­en­tial can­did­ate con­trols the vari­ous factors that ul­ti­mately lead to the nom­in­a­tion—not only the polls, but the com­bin­a­tion of fun­drais­ing, en­dorse­ments, me­dia at­ten­tion, and more that com­prise the full cam­paign.

More Republicans See Donald Trump as a Winner, Poll Finds

Republicans increasingly think that Donald J. Trump has the best chance of winning the 2016 presidential election as their nominee as confidence fades in traditional politicians like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

The GOP debate: 5 things to watch

It’s only the second of 12 scheduled GOP debates. But Wednesday’s primetime showdown at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley is poised to play a decisive role in culling the crowded Republican field.