In case you didn’t know it (it hasn’t been particularly well-publicized) there’s a debate tonight in South Carolina amongst some of the GOP candidates who have declared either officially or unofficially that they are running for the GOP nomination for President. Here’s a list [1] of those participating in the debate:
Five candidates will take the stage — former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).
Real estate mogul Donald Trump and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn), won’t be on stage, but they have visits planned later this month. Former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman is also scheduled to meet with [Gov. Nikki] Haley on Friday and will give a commencement address in the state on Saturday.
The debate starts at 9 Eastern Time and will be televised on Fox News. You can watch it on their website [2] if you can’t get to a TV. South Carolina’s “The State” newspaper will be liveblogging it [3].
And speaking of GOP presidential hopefuls, did you hear the news [4] that Newt does indeed plan on throwing his hat in the ring after all? I’m wondering how long that will last. Personally, I don’t think his candidacy will go anywhere.
Are you enthused about the crop of candidates who have put their names out there so far? I keep hearing a lot about Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. In spite of his now-infamous call for a “truce [5]” of sorts on social issues, I keep hearing from diehard conservatives that his social issues creds are solid. What do you think?