CNN Republican debate in Miami: news and updates
Tonight's Republican debate will air on CNN. But don't worry: If you don't have cable, you'll still be able to tune in — an online live stream will be free and available to all at CNN.com. The network has said the event will kick off at 8:30 pm Eastern in Miami, Florida.
This debate is the final one before a crucial day of voting in the GOP race on Tuesday, March 15. Five states — Florida, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, and Missouri — will go to the polls that day, and about 15 percent of overall Republican delegates will be up for grabs. Even more importantly, both Florida and Ohio allot all their delegates to whichever candidate comes in first, so Donald Trump has a big opportunity to expand his already sizable delegate lead.
Trump also has the chance to knock Marco Rubio and John Kasich out of the race, which he'd likely do if he beats each man in his home state. And he could well pull it off. Polls show Trump up big in Florida and neck-and-neck with Kasich in Ohio.
Rubio's campaign appears to be in free-fall lately — his performance in Tuesday's elections was simply disastrous, and there's been increasing speculation that he'll drop out of the race soon. This debate is likely his last chance to turn his prospects around.
John Kasich, meanwhile, seems to have surged a bit — he finished ahead of Rubio in both Michigan and Mississippi on Tuesday, and is closer to Trump in Ohio polls than Rubio is to the billionaire in Florida. Yet Kasich is in such a deep delegate hole that he's basically just hoping to force a contested convention at this point.
As for Trump's other rival, Ted Cruz, he's in somewhat of a better spot. He only has 100 or so fewer delegates than Trump due to racking up a few victories and many other solid second-place finishes. So he won't be facing a do-or-die moment anytime soon. But he is hoping to drive Rubio and Kasich out of the race so he can face off against Trump one-on-one. So look for Cruz to try to mostly avoid the fray tonight, much like he did in the last debate.
However, Cruz may be running out of time. If Trump romps on Tuesday, he'll likely rack up such a delegate lead that it will be tremendously difficult for anyone to catch up to him afterward. That's because, though voting in Republican primaries will continue until June, the calendar was frontloaded, so 59 percent of delegates will already be gone. So tonight's debate might well be the last chance Republicans have to stop Trump.
How to watch:
When: 8:30 pm Eastern
Where: Miami, Florida
TV: CNN
Online: CNN.com, free live stream available