[ot-caption title=”One of the eleven Republican candidates, Donald Trump. (via, Google Images, Wikipedia, Gage Skidmore).”]

Fifteen Republican candidates gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for CNN’s Republican Presidential Debate on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. They battled it out, striving to obtain popularity in order to receive the Republican presidential nomination for the 2016 general election. The lower tier of Republican nominees, aired at 5 p.m. and consisted of George Pataki, former Governor of New York, Bobby Jindal, current Governor of Louisiana, Rick Santorum, former Senator, and Lindsey Graham, current Senator. Arguing over foreign policy, working wages, the issue concerning county clerk Kim Davis, and more, this debate served as a sufficient lead-up to the main event. At 9 p.m, shots were fired and arguments boiled during the varsity Republican debate; the arousing event featured the top eleven Republican candidates: Donald Trump, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, John Kasich, Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz.

Opening the debate with an assault on fellow candidate Rand Paul, Donald Trump was constantly on the defensive side throughout the night as the other nominees looked to criticize him, such as when Bush confronted Trump about insulting his wife. Trump also answered questions about comments made in Rolling Stone magazine regarding Fiorina’s appearance, since he previously said, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?” His performance, according to CNN, was “mixed as Trump had both memorable highlights and cringe-worthy lowlights.”

On the other hand, the spotlight was no longer only on Trump, as Rubio, Fiorina, and Bush began to dominate the debate. Florida Senator Rubio, says CNN, proved his worth through demonstrating his ability to “weave his strong handle of policy with a compelling personal narrative.”  Rubio, an American of Cuban descent, discussed radical Islam and pressing issues in Middle Eastern countries, such as Syria, offering potential solutions to the ongoing issue.

Fiorina, meanwhile,tugged at America’s heartstrings when she spoke about the war on drugs; she remarked woefully, “I buried a child to drug addiction.” Recently  moved up from the lower tier debate, she also expressed her distaste for Planned Parenthood. She garnered  support from the audience by warning that it was essential to “stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill.” Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization dealing with contraception, reproductive issues, and family planning. The Republican Party is opposed to the idea of abortion. The bill they are proposing would cut the funding for Planned Parenthood; Fiorina expressed support for this bill.

Governor Christie also went on to criticize Hilary Clinton regarding the same issue, stating that Clinton “believes in the systematic murder of children in the womb to preserve their body parts.”

Former Governor of Florida, Bush, offered his own unique take on the illegal immigration issue.  Rather than adopting Trump’s solution of building a wall, Bush voiced his own approach by offering these immigrants legal standing, should they meet certain criteria.

The performances in the most recent GOP debate have definitely shaken the ranking of Republican candidates, and we will see whether the upcoming Democratic presidential debate has a similar effect.  According to Election Central, the next major Presidential debate will be the CNN Democratic Primary taking place on October 13, 2015.

Sources: CNN, Rolling Stones Magazine, Slate, Election Central, Washington Examiner