The coming Iowa caucuses will likely winnow the GOP field and the debate airing tonight might do the same.The debate hosted by Fox Business Channel will offer a smaller prime-time lineup than previous debates. Only seven candidates will be on stage while the others will be in the second-tier debate.
The "main event" will include Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
On the stage for the "undercard" debate will be Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Sen. Rand Paul has refued to participate, claiming he belongs in the main debate.
"It's long overdue for having a winnowing of the field of candidates," observes Dr. Charles Dunn, and he says that starts with the undercard debate.
"Now when you're put in the undercard position, that's a slap in your face," Dunn says. "It's time for the folks in the undercard to say, We tried. We failed. It's time for us to move on to other things."
Donald Trump 2Heading into the debate, RealClearPolitics shows Trump still enjoying a comfortable lead with a 35-percent average in three polls. Trump is second at 19 percent with Rubio in third at 11 percent.
In the state of Iowa, Cruz is enjoying a slight lead over Trump. Six polls cited by RCP show Trump ahead and six show Cruz ahead.
The Iowa caucuses will be held February 1 in the state's 1,774 voting predincts, where delegates are selected.
Regarding the main debate, Dunn says it could determine whether front-runner Trump is a "serious prospect" heading into the Iowa causes.
"And the same thing for Cruz," he adds.
Political observers will also be watching, Dunn says, to see who among the "establishment" candidates will gain some ground. His prediction is Rubio rather than Bush.
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