HOUSTON (AP) – The Latest on the final Republican presidential debate before Super Tuesday (all times local):
7:35 p.m.
The Republican candidates for president are on stage at the final debate before Super Tuesday, and among those watching in the crowd is former President George H.W. Bush.
The 91-year-old Bush waved to the cheering crowd after being introduced by the debate moderator. He and his wife Barbara Bush and other family members are sitting with him in box seats.
This is the first GOP debate of this election season without Bush’s second son, Jeb Bush. He dropped out of the race last weekend after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the South Carolina primary.
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7:20 p.m.
There’s one last chance on the debate stage for Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz to slow Donald Trump’s momentum before next week’s Super Tuesday elections, and it’s about to start.
The Thursday night debate in Houston takes place just a few days before 11 states hold GOP primaries that could cement Trump’s dominance of the Republican race for president.
The billionaire businessman in on a three-state winning streak. Left standing on stage to challenge him are the two freshman senators, along with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Thursday’s debate broadcast on CNN and Telemundo is the only one of the season steered to a Spanish-speaking as well as English-speaking audience, so immigration could be an issue on which the debate turns.