Ahead of tonight’s debate between the Republican presidential candidates, I wanted to share a few notes on the debate and the state of the race so you can help IAVA drive the conversation on social media.

CNN is hosting the tenth GOP debate, accompanied by panelists from Telemundo and Salem Media Group. This is the last face-off between all five Republican presidential candidates before Super Tuesday. Hosted at the University of Houston (Texas) the debate airs on CNN at 8:30 PM EST. The debate will also stream live on CNN.com and Telemundo will air it in Spanish.

Moderators
Wolf Blitzer (CNN) @wolfblitzer
Maria Celeste Arrarás (Telemundo) @MariaCeleste
Hugh Hewitt (Salem Radio) @hughhewitt
Dana Bash (CNN) @DanaBashCNN

Additional Social Media Engagement
#GOPDebate- Official Hashtag
#CNNElection
@CNNPolitics

Tonight’s debate comes after the Nevada Democratic caucuses earlier this week, where Donald Trump solidified his frontrunner status by winning with 49.5 percent of the vote. Marco Rubio came in second place with 23.9 percent, slightly ahead of Ted Cruz, who finished with 21.4 percent.

Texas is home to approximately 1.6 million veterans, comprising 8.5% of its voting age population. The state also has numerous military installations within its borders and around 130,000 Texas residents are active duty military service members. Needless to say, there’s a significant case for the moderators to focus on issues that matter to veterans and members of the military tonight.

Texas is also home to Senator Ted Cruz. The state’s former governor and Air Force veteran, Rick Perry, recently endorsed Cruz and will be recruiting veterans to his campaign. Recent news reports that Marco Rubio also received a key endorsement this week when U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, put his name behind Rubio’s presidential campaign. And in today’s news, Donald Trump, who has been under close scrutiny for his pledges to veteran charities, is offering to pay off debt and help pick up bills for a Queens New York veterans group.

Of the three leading candidates, only Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have substantive veterans sections on their websites. Links to Ted Cruz’s website and the rest of the rapidly-shrinking field can be found at “IAVA Votes”.

Happy watching!
Allison