Republican candidates prepare for another debate with much to lose

MILWAUKEE – A restive Republican field meets again Tuesday with more on the line than ever before.

Donald Trump hopes to reignite his campaign’s momentum after falling in the polls from a September high, while Ben Carson, joining Trump at the top of the national polls, hones his more combative side after new questions were raised about his background.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is trying to quell concerns about his personal finances. And former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, long the assumed establishment favorite, faces growing criticism after his flat performances in the previous three debates.

At least they’ll be on the main stage. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee were relegated to the undercard – an earlier debate with two lesser-known rivals – because of dismal poll standings.

It’s the media, though, that may be under the most scrutiny for tonight’s debate.

The campaigns and candidates erupted at CNBC’s moderators after last month’s debate over what they deemed to be slanted “gotcha” questions. This time, it’s the Fox Business Network in the pilot’s seat as millions of Americans tune in for what hosts promise to be a “real debate.”

The candidates all have plenty to gain – and as much to lose – from the fourth GOP showdown of the year.

Each of the debates was a ratings bonanza, largely driven by Trump’s say-anything bombast, and each also holds game-changing political potential for candidates trying to stand out in such a crowded field.

Bush may have the most to lose. He tried to reboot his campaign after a frustrating fall with a “Jeb Can Fix It” tour that invoked his eight years in Florida’s top job. But he remains stuck in the single digits in national polls.

Bush courted Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday, praising his onetime rival’s embrace of charter schools. Walker, once another favorite of establishment Republicans, dropped out of the race in September and has yet to endorse another candidate.

Suddenly surging in the polls, Carson has a new target on his back with reports questioning his claim that West Point offered him a scholarship and other key elements of his biography. He’s accused the media of embarking on a “witch hunt” to disparage the personal narrative of redemption that’s helped him draw evangelical voters.

Rubio, another candidate on the rise, will face questions about his use of a Republican Party of Florida credit card in 2005 and 2006 when he was a young Florida lawmaker. Credit card statements released over the weekend showed about $7,200 in personal purchases, which Rubio’s aides said he later repaid.

The debate will also feature another first for the year: A smaller field.

Host Fox Business Network cut Christie and Huckabee from the prime-time debate after polls showed them below the 2.5 percent threshold, a demotion that could haunt their campaigns.

Christie, who was beginning to show traction in some national polls, tried to portray it as a minor setback. But he’s also railed against reporters who ignore “what’s happening in New Hampshire and Iowa,” the home of the first presidential contests in 2016.

That’s a common refrain from the Republican field and the reason why the media may have the most to prove today. Republicans, and plenty of other critics, slammed CNBC’s handling of the last debate.

The Fox Business moderators said they are preparing to press the candidates with skeptical, but not snarky, questions. The candidates will be ready to hit back hard at any hint of media bias.

Then there’s the reaction of President Barack Obama, who offered his own take on the line of questioning from that October debate.

“If you can’t handle those guys,” he said of the CNBC moderators, “I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.”