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The second Re­pub­lic­an pres­id­en­tial de­bate cer­tainly de­livered on its prom­ise: The 11 can­did­ates on stage at­tacked one an­oth­er, and fre­quently, over the course of a three-hour slug­fest at the Ron­ald Re­agan Pres­id­en­tial Lib­rary in Cali­for­nia. That ad­ded up to a good night for a hand­ful of the pres­id­en­tial hope­fuls. For oth­ers, it’s one they’d rather for­get.

It can be dangerous to predict how the polls will move in response to debates. On the one hand, journalists and political pundits don’t have so much in common with the Republican voters who are watching the debates at home. On the other hand, the post-debate narratives and “spin” sometimes matter more than what happened on the debate stage itself.

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.

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.

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.