Welcome to a special edition of Fox News' politics newsletter, where we talk about the second GOP presidential primary debate.
REMINDER: The next Republican presidential primary debate takes place tonight at 9pm ET. Sign up now to stream.
SHOWDOWN AT REAGAN LIBRARY: Seven presidential hopefuls will take the stage Wednesday night at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Follow along with Fox News' live updates blog all day today for the latest debate news.
PROVING GROUND: What do candidates need to do to stand out from the crowd? Longtime Republican strategists David Kochel and Dave Carney give their thoughts and predictions:
SIDELINED: Asa Hutchinson is the only candidate from the first debate who failed to qualify for the second contest. But he's pushing forward with his campaign.
"I understand that the [Republican National Committee] and the media are trying to reduce the number of candidates, but I measure success based on the response I receive in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire," Hutchinson wrote this week in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
MEET THE MODERATORS: Fox News' Dana Perino, FOX Business' Stuart Varney, and UNIVISION's Ilia Calderón will moderate Wednesday's GOP debate. Perino and Varney discussed their debate prep on Fox News this week ...Read more
ANTHEM PREVIEW: By day, Mary Millben was a staffer in George W. Bush's White House, but at night she would sing – at Christmas parties and White House events. Tonight, she'll open the debate by singing the national anthem minutes before the debate kicks off.
