Tonight, in Arizona, CNN will be hosting a Republican Primary debate that may be the most important thus far. After tonight, the candidates will not have another debate until after a string of primaries including Super Tuesday. In the past weeks since the last debate, the field has been shifting all over the place with upset victories and surprise endorsements. Each candidate has a lot riding on their shoulders tonight, no matter what their current delegate count is at.
Mitt Romney will again find himself at the center of the stage tonight. Having been the front runner throughout the whole process, the only change has been the person next to him. In the debate this evening, Romney must make his case to the conservative base which has yet to show him much support. Though many in the Republican party feel he is the best candidate to run against Obama, they still view him as the moderate. His do-or-die moment will come in trying to pick up the rest of the GOP faithful before some key contests.
The position next to Romney will again be filled by a different candidate with Rick Santorum’s surge over the past month. Rick has been no stranger to pressure from the media to only discuss his social stances. Tonight will likely be more of the same but only if he allows it to be. He must take control of the conversation and highlight his economic policies. That will be his do-or-die moment and it is one that must be handled upon his first question.
Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul both come into tonight’s debate well secured in the bottom half. Though Newt has one win under his belt, it matters very little since it produced no real boost. Ron Paul has had strong second place finishes in a few primaries that have netted him some delegates. Both seem to think that the mantra of ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’ is all they need to say. Truth is, many within the GOP are starting to feel that their presence is not necessary or desired.
Both Gingrich and Paul can argue all night about certain poll numbers in their favor and pledged and unpledged delegates. Wins matter and the sooner they recognize that the sooner they may experience one. Newt and Ron share the same do-or-die moment and that will be pleading their relevancy in this race. No one expects them to drop out before Super Tuesday and it would be insane to do so. But if both men plan to show more of the same tonight, however crowd pleasing it may seem, they should expect the same results in the coming primaries and caucuses.
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