goplogo

Republican candidates for the presidency will gather Thursday night at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for their first nationally televised debate.  The debate, which will be carried on MSNBC and liveblogged here at Minnesota Monitor starting at 7 p.m., will feature 10 Republicans vying to succeed George W. Bush. Here’s a quick look at the Republican candidates and the state of their campaigns today:

First, conspicuous by his absence will be Fred Thompson, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee.  Thompson has not yet announced his candidacy and was not invited to the debate.  Despite that, Thompson is currently second in the Rasmussen Reports poll, with 14 percent support.  Newt Gingrich, a former U.S. representative from Georgia, will not be attending the debate for the same reason. Gingrich polls fifth with 8 percent support.

The current front-runner for the GOP nomination is Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. Giuliani has 30 percent support in the Rasmussen poll but has been under attack from social conservatives critical of statements he has made in support of government-funded abortion for the poor, as well as his generally liberal views on gay rights. Giuliani has strong support in national polls, though, and has thus far raised more than $16 million dollars for his campaign.

Another top-tier GOP candidate is Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.   McCain, tied with Fred Thompson for second at 14 percent in the Rasmussen poll, has struggled to get his campaign on track and has had a string of recent gaffes – from his claim that westerners could stroll the streets of Baghdad unmolested to his recent singing of “Bomb Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran” at a campaign event.  McCain has raised the third-most funds of GOP contenders, however, with $13 million thus far.

The top fund-raiser thus far has been Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts. Romney raised more than $23 million so far.  He’s still polling fourth among GOP candidates, though, with 11 percent of the vote.  His Mormon faith is believed to be a potential liability for his need to secure the GOP’s evangelical base, as is his perceived “flip-flopping” on issues.

None of the other Republicans running for president are polling in double digits, and of the remaining group, only two have raised more than a million dollars.  Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., is running as a staunch conservative with a deep commitment to the GOP’s social base.  He has been struggling to overcome doubts about his viability in a general election.  Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is running an issue-oriented campaign supporting strong curbs on immigration and a harsh crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Other GOP candidates attending tonight’s debate will be Jim Gilmore, a former Republication National Committee chairman from Virginia, whose campaign has yet to catch fire; Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is perhaps best known for losing more than 100 pounds; Staunch conservative bomb-thrower Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, who is to the GOP field what Dennis Kucinich is to the Democratic one; Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, the darling of the libertarians, who should be interesting if for no other reason that he’ll be the lone opponent of the Iraq war on stage; and Tommy Thompson, a former governor of Wisconsin who has had to weather a controversy over insensitive and possibly anti-Semitic comments he made at a campaign event.

Minnesota Monitor’s liveblog of tonight’s event will run from the 7 p.m. start through the duration of the debate, plus post-debate coverage on how top-tier candidates performed.  Be sure to check back this evening for further coverage.