--- title: Republican Debate Leads Big Week in 2016 Presidential Race description: A Republican debate that could winnow the field is just part of a critical 2016 presidential campaign stretch canonical: https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-03T15:40:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:47.663Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republicans Brace for Biggest Week Yet in Presidential Race og:description: A debate that could winnow the field is just part of a critical campaign stretch og:url: https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republicans Brace for Biggest Week Yet in Presidential Race twitter:description: A debate that could winnow the field is just part of a critical campaign stretch twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Republicans Brace for Biggest Week Yet in Presidential Race ## Video: Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2015-07-23. Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes_ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 3, 2015 3:40 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 3, 2015 3:40 PM UTC For months, the 2016 Republican presidential field has mushroomed to include an almost-unheard-of 17 candidates. This week, the field could finally start to narrow The top 10 candidates based on national polling will gather in Cleveland on Thursday for the first prime time, nationally-televised debate of the campaign. In a public spectacle millions of Americans are likely to tune in to Fox News for, the 10 will lay out their cases, zing their opponents, fall prey to gaffes—and try to avoid getting sucked into The Donald Trump show. The seven candidates whose polling numbers are too minuscule for the main event will participate in an undercard event on Fox several hours earlier, playing to a much smaller audience. And while it’s unlikely any candidates will actually drop out this week, those who don’t make the cut will be flirting with anonymity and eventual defeat. “You know, I’ll be very happy on Tuesday when the standings come out and I’m in there,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is on the cusp of missing the cut for the premier debate, said Sunday on CNN’s [_State of the Union_](http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2015/08/02/gov-chris-christie-im-confident-i-will-be-there-on-thursday-night-for-the-gop-debate/). “Once you get on the stage, it’s not going to matter if you’re No. 1, No. 5 or No. 10\. … I’m confident I’ll be there on Thursday night.” In addition to the debate, 14 of the 17 GOP contenders will speak one at a time Monday night in Manchester, N.H., for a candidate forum that will be broadcast live on CSPAN and in three early-voting states. And on Friday and Saturday in Atlanta, 10 candidates are set to meet for the annual RedState gathering hosted by the influential conservative website. The GOP debates are as much a pitfall to stumble over as they are an opportunity to shine. In November of 2011, then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry famously forgot the name of the third agency he would eliminate as president, saying only “oops”—a moment that dominated the news cycle and was largely responsible for his eventual defeat in the primary. A strong performance by Mitt Romney in his second debate against President Obama in October 2012 briefly helped boost his momentum and tighten the race with the incumbent Democrat. This year, the Fox News rules for participating in the debate make it an extremely close contest to be on the national stage. An average of the last five polls show seven of the top 10 candidates—including Ben Carson, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich—within about three percentage points of one another. The candidates who miss the top-tier debate will be relegated to a smaller forum that will be broadcast earlier in the evening. Those who could be in the undercard event include Perry, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, and former New York Gov. George Pataki, who are all polling at about 3% or less nationally among Republicans. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters With the ever-provocative Donald Trump leading the Republican field and set to be center-stage in the GOP debate, candidates are scrambling to prepare to face the real estate mogul and take a bite out of his support. Strategists are divided over the best way to approach Trump, and whether they should attack him or try to stay above the fray. “I’m not a debater, I’ve never debated before,” Trump said Sunday on NBC’s [_Meet the Press_](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press)_._ “I guess my whole life has been a debate in one way but I’ve never been on a stage debating.” Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee Chairman, has come under fire about the rules for entering the first debate, but he’s defended the guidelines—which were set by Fox News, not the party—and pointed to the fact that there are basically two debates. “All seventeen candidates,” Priebus said on [_Meet the Press_](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/rnc-chair-gop-nominee-march-n402601), “are going to be participating in debate night. So everyone’s going to have an opportunity, and I think that’s wonderful for our party.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/"},"headline":"Republicans Brace for Biggest Week Yet in Presidential Race","datePublished":"2015-08-03T15:40:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:47.663Z","description":"A debate that could winnow the field is just part of a critical campaign stretch","url":"https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","GOP"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/","name":"Republicans Brace for Biggest Week Yet in Presidential Race"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump","description":"Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7MzTpVq2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-23T21:38:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/","duration":"PT1M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3982126/republican-debate-2016-presidential-election/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```