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Chris Christie de­livered an­oth­er strong de­bate per­form­ance Tues­day, re­kind­ling hope that des­pite a de­mo­tion to the un­der­card event, the New Jer­sey gov­ernor’s nat­ur­al cha­risma and blunt style is giv­ing the long-shot cam­paign a chance to build mo­mentum as the GOP pres­id­en­tial primary heats up.

Bush Makes a Comeback in Debate

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush may not have “won” the GOP debate last night (most are giving that victory to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio), but the consensus view seems to be that he turned in a good performance and was significantly improved from the first three debates. Bush came in tied for second, according to Politico’s survey of insiders:

Insiders: Rubio wins, Kasich bombs

The runner-ups for best performance, according to the survey, were Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina with 12 percent ... Read More >>

GOP candidates fight to survive in ‘undercard’ debate

Four Republican presidential candidates lagging in national polls squared off in a lively preliminary debate Tuesday night, fighting to move into the top tier of White House GOP hopefuls.

Most of the Republican presidential candidates will appear in their fourth debate of the nomination process tonight. The main stage will feature a slimmed-down group, as two participants in previous debates, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, failed to qualify and will instead be relegated to the early event for lower-polling candidates.

The earlier debate will remain at four participants, however, as South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former New York Gov. George Pataki didn’t make ... Read More >>

USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings: SNL bumps Trump back up

Call it the Saturday Night Live effect: Donald Trump uses his appearance on the wheezing comedy show to vault back into first place in our weekly power rankings.

Our panel of political experts was pretty unanimous: show bad, Trump good.

What to Look for in Republican Debate Promising to Focus on Economy

Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee will bring the eight leading contenders together at a time when two are confronting questions about their pasts, one faces mounting doubts about his seriousness, and another who began the race as a favorite is under intense pressure to show he can be as forceful as he was cracked up to be.

As he stood next to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in a high school gymnasium in suburban Milwaukee late Monday afternoon, one couldn’t help wonder if former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was pondering whether his own campaign would ultimately fare better than that of his former rival.