Can Ted Cruz topple Donald Trump in Tuesday's big GOP debate?

The new frontrunner in Iowa needs to swat down a maniacal attack from The Donald

Tonight's debate will decide who is leading the republican race for presidency.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The GOP presidential race has been a wild ride — and yet in many ways, remains incredibly static. Despite the controversies that have erupted around Donald Trump, the real estate mogul still leads national polling by a mile. Ben Carson, the other outsider in this anti-establishment cycle, has only recently begun to slide in national polling, but he's scored well enough to still get the number two position on the CNN/Salem Media Group debate stage on Tuesday. Indeed, the lineup for the main debate looks remarkably similar to past debates. The very fact that the GOP still has to field an undercard debate is a testament to the static nature of the national contest.

In so many ways, it seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same. However, that view can be deceiving. At the state level, a major shift has taken place, and it may change the character of the national race, and of the debate on Tuesday night.

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.