Don’t underestimate the power of the debate. Even a 10 man battle-royal like the one we’ll see Thursday, which promises to be more sideshow than substance, will have a major impact on the early pecking order of candidates. In 2012 we saw Tim Pawlenty, considered by many an early favorite, hem and haw his way right out of the race before he made it to July. Rick Perry couldn’t remember his own platform and sunk so low in the polls that four years and a new pair of hip glasses later he can’t even break into the top 10, (and thus may not even make the stage for the first debate).
On the flip side of that coin, candidates more comfortable under the spotlight like Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, used the seemingly never-ending series of debates to vault themselves into contender status, rallying a Conservative base that never quite bought into Mitt Romney the same way that it now seems reluctant to support Jeb Bush.
Will Donald Trump, leading in most early polls, go on the offensive and continue to draw more supporters to his populist banner? Will establishment favorite Jeb Bush continue to keep a low profile, or will he use his time to make his move to the front of the pack? Who will put their foot in their mouth? Who will get in a shouting match? Who will come up with that Newt-esque one liner that adds 10 points to their polling numbers overnight? The only thing we know for sure is that the debate will be must see TV.
On Thursday we’ll get our first taste of who is going to step up and who is going to step right off a cliff, and at this weekend’s RedState convention in Atlanta InsiderAdvantage will be there to give readers an up close look at the fallout.
With nearly every major candidate scheduled to appear, stay tuned as we cover the event that marks the real kickoff to campaign season.
The full schedule for the RedState event can be found below.
