♪ >> all eyes will be on center stage to see if the two former allies go after each other. >> i think it is going to be big. >> who will attack trump first? >> maybe they will have a flashdance dance-off. ♪ john: happy what happens in vegas definitely doesn't stay in vegas. we are live at the venetian hotel, where, in a few hours, the gop candidates will take the

stage for their fifth debate. in a new national poll today, donald trump has hit an all-time high, leading the pack with 38% followed by ted cruz and 14%. ben carson is 11%. marco rubio at 10%. jeb bush at 7%. trump across the categories doing extraordinarily well. he leads in best personality, best chance of winning the election best chance of changing , washington, he is seen at the strongest leader. he leads among men, women, college graduates, noncollege graduates, liberals, moderates, and conservatives. he is seen as the best that handling terrorism, which is ofnt and center in the minds american voters. today, the los angeles city shut down its entire school system after receiving threats. we will see what happens with that. since the last date, we have had

paris, san bernardino, and the whole race has changed. national security is front and center. what are you expecting? mark: everybody will try to show that they are the strongest on national security. every time national security comes up, you can bet that people will strain to get in. they will try to project that they are the strongest. that has become the most dominating issue. ben carson was here a little while ago. i asked him, what is the biggest issue in the race besides national security? he said, homeland security. even ben carson has recognize that he needs to show that he is big on this issue. john: it will be interesting to see -- the last time we had a cnn debate, we were out in simi valley, california. they try to create conflict between the candidates. if foreign policy is the lion's share of the debate, there is

not that much daylight, with the exception of rand paul and ted cruz, there is not much of a distinction between these guys. the question is, how much will this debate be about substance? how serious is it? or how much is it just a clash reacting to the taking clock? mark: and how much they try to project themselves. this many candidates still on the stage this close to the holidays i think it will be , tricky. in true las vegas fashion, we will discuss what is in the cards tonight for the candidates. starting center stage with the trump card. the front runner was here last night at a rally where he teased ted cruz then held back. >> we had a monumental poll highly respected, trump, 41%. ted cruz, 14%.

41-14. and i like ted cruz. good guy. here is how they announced, ted cruz surging. trump, 41, ted cruz, 14. i said, wait, what is going on? mark: the betting here in vegas amongst observers is divided on whether trump will hit ted cruz tonight. going into this debate do you , think trump will feel under pressure? thinks i amink he the dominant front runner and i can stand pat? john: i think it is a false binary. trump is under pressure because he is the front runner. mark: he has been impervious to pressure largely. john: so far, he has been impervious to pressure. he has engaged in various provocations throughout the campaign. in most cases, he has benefited from them.

ban proposal,im he did something different. everybody else denounced him for it. how does that play out tonight? i think he will be under pressure on that point. mark: i think he is going to be more prepared than he has ever been. he recognizes the stakes are higher than i have ever been. a strong debate performance tonight will not lock up the nomination but it goes a long , way to position him as the dominant front runner. john: please don't say that. mark: a strong debate performance for a guy getting 43% nationally -- john: here is the other thing, he is feeling pressure from the fact that our poll is the gold standard poll in iowa. our poll with the des moines register shows ted cruz ahead by a lot in iowa. cruz struggling with ted now.

forensics are ted cruz's forte. he knows how to attack moderates at home instead of his fellow republicans. he resisted striking back this week. tonight, one of them may try and may even succeed at forcing his hand. if trump or the moderators go to ted cruz to get him into fisticuffs, do you think he will react? how? mark: he will turn every cheek he has. john: how many will that be? mark: he is so confident that he is unassailable that there is no reason to turn the other cheek. keep his favorables up, attack the media, turn his cheek -- i don't think ted cruz will let anybody draw him into a fight. john: it is a question of, ted cruz has extraordinary

discipline. he has been disciplined and methodical. if a free-for-all emerges tonight, as many as the press hopes where everybody tries to , piles on ted cruz it will be a , good test for him. mark: he does not worry about looking week because he can , always attack the media or somebody else. he doesn't need to attack the others on stage. he loves the trajectory he is on, and who could blame him? john: rationally, that makes sense. the only question is, when everybody turns on you in a way that has never happened, it is a test of candidate skills and discipline. mark: he has not been reluctant to attack marco rubio. if marco rubio comes after him on immigration, you can bet that he will hit rubio. that brings us to everybody else. let's start with marco rubio. he has obviously been a rising

candidate, but he is not in the first tier. what does he need to do tonight? john: he has had good debate performances. he dispatched jeb bush in a proficient way. he needs to stand above the other people who are competing to be the establishment front runner. he needs to elevate his game and be that guy. mark: the more i thought about it i am still baffled by how , much he is fighting with ted cruz. he needs to win the establishment lane. let's see if he focuses on differentiating himself. all right, ben carson. he released a plan on dealing with national security. what does he have to do? john: he has to convince the entire party that he has what it takes on those issues. national security, homeland security, foreign policy -- he is already on a downward slide. he cannot afford another mistake. mark: he has to win people back tonight. john: let's talk about chris

christie. mark: i just ran into him in the casino. man, he is loose. he was joking about wearing a tie during the debate. he just needs to replicate his performance in the last debate. he needs to show that he can take on the people ahead of him as well as establishment candidates. he needs to keep talking about middle-class. he is the only one that can do with national security and the economy without feeling jumbled. i think that is what he will do. john: to the extent that he has risen in new hampshire because his performance has been so good. the big test will be strength. he has been good at projecting strength. if he keeps doing that, it will be good. mark: what about jeb bush? john: oh, my god. he somehow pulls a rapid out of rabbit out of the hat? i don't know. mark: he will try to avoid every question to say what he wants. the thing that he said from the beginning, he has to look like he is joyous and that he is showing people his heart. he needs to be himself.

somehowthink that whether it is a scripted line or unscripted line he has to create , a moment. he has not had a real moment in the entire campaign. if he doesn't have one, he won't be the nominee. it is getting pretty late for jeb bush right now. carly fiorina? mark: she needs to pick somebody and pick a fight with them. she has got to get back in the debate this evening. none of the other candidates have taken on ted cruz or trump. she has got to try to do it. john: what about john kasich? mark: john kasich needs to go back to being john kasich, he has to stop fighting trump. he has to be the guy that can govern. i will ask you about rand paul, too. there is still space for that. i feel the same way about rand paul. he could be the guy to differentiate himself most easily from everybody else. mark: he had some good moments in the last debate. he just is to amp up his distinctive message. john: stick around, because we

have been dealt a really good hand of guests tonight. we start with the new york times' jonathan martin, dan halls, both here when we come back. ♪

>> i don't think he is qualified to be president. >> why not? >> i don't think he has the right temperament or judgment. he deals with the senate, he goes in there a little bit like a maniac. you don't get things done that way. i built a phenomenal business.

i'm worth billions of dollars, some of the greatest assets in the world. you cannot walk into the senate scream and call people liars and not be able to control and get along with people. he will never get anything done. that is the problem with ted. mark: that was donald trump over the weekend hitting ted cruz for . joining us now to talk about the debate are two political maniacs, jonathan martin and jonathan hollis. how much are they candidate-centric? >> the trump campaign is overwhelmingly candidate-centric, as we know. there is more staff input there. i doubt that ted cruz will go off half cocked during the debate. my sense is that ted cruz will

do everything he can in the debate. we know the moderators will push him. he will try to do his damndest. >> i agree. i think the ted cruz campaign -- not that he is not his own strategist. that is a good, smart staff. have a sense of what they are trying to do. they are executing on that theory and for that reason, i agree you'd i do think he wants to get in a public fight with donald. mark: one of the things is that he does the candidate thing that a candidate has to do very well. >> all through these debates, one thing early on that impressed me about ted cruz was he looked right at the camera and you knew who he had in mind when he was talking to the camera. he had a specific audience that he was trying to draw in.

he has been consistent in that. >> you have to give ted cruz credit for his organization. for winning support in iowa. in a campaign has been dominated by the debates. , it was inevitable that they candidate who first made his name in public life as a debate club champion will probably rise to the top. it is logical that a campaign dominated by these things would favor the guy who comes out of the debate club. joinedonald trump never the debate club that i know of. donald trump has been a huge figure on the stage. does he go after ted cruz? he seems tentative right now. what is going on with them? >> they will try to provoke trump to do that. look at the first four debates, trump was ferocious, but reluctant to aggressively go after some of the candidates.

>> except for rand paul. >> there were times where you could tell he was tempted to hit ben carson but he could not , bring himself to do it. i think he is going to be restrained unless he gets hit. or if he is really provoked by a moderator. >> he is going to get hit by somebody. >> of course. >> in terms of going directly after ted cruz, i think you're right. both of them and probably have it in their minds that it is better for them if they don't carry this fight out on stage. mark: you read and written up a lot of polls, what strikes you about the poll just released? >> two things. one, the degree to which the comments about barring muslims for some in definite time span did not hurt. it is what we have seen consistently with trump. and yet, this was perhaps the most condemned comment he has made through the campaign.

he went to six points in the last month. that was an important indicator. the second was the continuing fade of ben carson, which we have seen. somebody said it was a quiet implosion. the third thing is the degree to which trump is a very challenged candidate. >> there was a moment where the party leaders and grassroots were so out of step -- that poll you had exposed in a raw, vivid way -- mark: nothing like it. pretty incredible. thank you both. up next, a rubio supporter joins us after this. ♪

john: we are here in los angeles -- man, not los angeles, las vegas. congressman good to see you. , >> it is good to be here at the epicenter of the debate for the future of america. john: yes, this is it. explain to us why you think marco rubio should be the republican nominee in seven words. >> he is aspirational, he gets it, and he is good enough to meet the demands of a very

dangerous world. john: what does he have to you -- do tonight his cause? to help his cause? >> he just has to be himself. he has been playing the, i am marco rubio and this is what i believe for america, and it has him into the top three, but i think that will get him it will get him all the way. mark: do you think it is down to the top three? >> i think it is now trump's to lose, and i think he is going to fall. he is not going to wear well on the voters in the long run. that means it is ted cruz or marco rubio. they are both young and quite frankly, they have similar experience. mark: how would you describe the mood of the house conference as trump does well during the polls? >> what's amazing is marco rubio, ted cruz, donald trump,

they are all angry about the same things going wrong and they all have a similar vision for america in the sense of where they think we should be. in the house, those of us who are angry about a lost seven years, both domestically and around the world we find that we , like what donald trump says in many cases about what is wrong. the question is, who can bring us together to fix it? mark: that is marco rubio. that is marco rubio. mark: does the conference of the trump and say, no? >> the american people in state after state, those who choose to be republicans are going to pick the nominee. as a member of congress, i get a vote like anybody else spirit if . if the american people vote somebody to be the nominee of our party, i will work to make sure that is a successful nominee. john: there is definitely a concern that if donald trump was

the republican nominee that he would have a bad effect. the house would be gone, and possibly the house would be in jeopardy. do you share that view? >> the polls speak for themselves. 41% nationally is an amazing figure. when you put that into a general election, it gets cut in half. this is somebody who know can compete with hillary clinton. most polls are saying that marco rubio can beat hillary clinton like a drum with voters who have not been putting republicans. mark: do you find that -- >> if he is the nominee i hope , to move his policies to where he can beat hillary clinton. >> you joked about being at the epicenter of the debate. have you found the discussions

of the candidates day-to-day uplifting or more of a freak show? >> i have been honored to work with the policy team of marco rubio and he really is already putting together the kinds of questions and answers and discussions that are going to help us bring america back where it needs to be. he gets it that the internet of things is here while the , government is trying to figure out how to not let us encrypt those things so whether it is an , issue like that or being very serious about national security in a way that this president hasn't been, marco rubio has been at the forefront of that and he is helping lead a discussion in the right direction. john: you made this point about aspirational. that's a part of marco rubio's appeal. >> i think i named it first. john: it is also generational. barack obama, john kennedy, bill democratsbarack obama, john kennedy, bill clinton, democrats , often look to young , relatively inexperienced candidate. republicans do not do that.

they have not done it historically. it is hard to find an example of republicans embracing a young candidate and making him the nominee why the difference this . time? >> he is at halftime during his life. he has enough experience, but he is looking toward the future. hillary is in the fourth quarter. john: why does the party who does not like youth and relative inexperience change its mind this time? >> we have unfortunately told people wait your turn in the past with nominees and that has not worked out well. factor fact, we have a bunch of gatecrashers right now who have said, i am not waiting for my turn. 70-year-old man with donald trump to a 40-year-old man with marco rubio. i want somebody at halftime looking at the next 50 years, i don't want somebody at the end of the fourth quarter, and that is hillary clinton. mark: one adjective to describe marco rubio? >> aspirational.

>> ted cruz. >> smart. mark: one adjective to describe hillary clinton? >> liar. mark: wow. what about darrell issa? >> i am optimistic that she will be defeated. i'm optimistic that the american people are going to recognize that somebody who circumvents security protections and has top-secret documents on her server are not the right person -- john: i have to cut you off. we have to go to a heartbreak. we have team ted cruz and team up nextwe have team ted cruz and team chris christie. , ♪ the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20.

it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. ♪ >> i don't agree with these folks in congress, including senator rubio who says that his , vote does not matter anymore. that's why he doesn't show up. that is baloney.

he didn't show up because he is running for president. it doesn't matter a more today than it did yesterday that it did today. we have not had a great republican president the whole time senator rubio has been in office. his vote never mattered under his theory. so why was he showing up before and voting? mark: that was governor chris christie taking a shot at marco rubio. he will be on the debate stage this evening. joining us tonight is governor christie's senior strategist and representative from oklahoma. thank you for joining us. tell his first where you think the status of the ted cruz campaign is right now? >> he is in a very good spot. we are number one in iowa. nationally, we are number two. the numbers are on the rise. we are making a strong effort.

were trying to peek at the right time, and i think that's what were doing right now. we are all very positive about it. mark: what is the state of the chris christie campaign? >> we are very optimistic right now, new hampshire numbers are on the rise. we feel like we're the right place at the right time. most people make their minds up in january and iowa and new hampshire, so we feel like we're moving up at the right time. john: ted cruz may be peaking a little too early, this has been the case in iowa for the last couple of cycles. ted cruz is pretty hot now and it is still more than a month away. >> if you look at mike huckabee's campaign, he got hot pretty early, before christmas and he ended up winning iowa. , we are in a great position. i'm very happy with where we are. john: what about you guys? you're playing a new hampshire game right now. do you have any hopes in iowa? >> i don't know all of the eggs

are in the new hampshire basket. those been more time in iowa going forward. i would not say all the eggs in new hampshire. john: you don't worry that he finishes way down in the pack in hamper newhat will hampshire? >> it is a different race. we have never had as many people who could conceivably win the nomination before. iowa new hampshire are very different now. john mccain came in fourth or fifth in iowa before. it is a very long game. mark: both of you are supporting candidates who are talking strong about national security. marco rubio has given credit often on being an expert on foreign policy -- is he? >> there's a difference between hearing about things, and in our case, governor christie doing something about it. he was a federal prosecutor.

he supported the patriot act. he stopped multiple terrorist acts in progress. he prevented them from happening. there is a difference. i do know marco rubio's expertise is different -- the difference is having actually done it versus talking about an -- about it and hearing about it. mark: what you see is the major difference between national security and homeland security between marco rubio and ted cruz? >> i am a navy pilot, so i take this very seriously. when marco voted against the usa freedom act which had a number , of critical important authorities for national including lone wolves. that tool has been used over and over again. marco rubio voted against it. senator cruz not only voted for it he supported it and , cosponsored the bill. when it comes to national security, i think ted cruz has the edge on marco rubio. john: how do you feel when you hear marco rubio hitting back

against ted cruz on questions of foreign policy. try to paint ted cruz as if you were rand paul. >> this is a distraction. marco rubio is part of the gang of eight who provided amnesty for millions of people that are here illegally without securing the southern border of the united states. the american people are aware that, and by the way, that is terrible for national security. marco rubio knows that. he knows will be an issue so he is trying to distract people. mark: why hasn't that come up as an issue so far. ? >> i've been talking about ever since the bill came up. it should be an issue and is a major problem for national security. marco rubio voted against one of the amendments of that bill that would have provided 750 miles of fence that was required by law for decades. the biometric entry/exit system that has been required, by law, for decades. the ability of congress to actually approve that the southern border is secure before

providing the amnesty packet that marco rubio was pushing, that was an important amendment and marco rubio voted against that. he was so committed to passing his bill with president obama that he was willing to forgo is very important national security provisions that a lot of us on the right wanted to make sure were in the bill. mark: donald trump when he was threatened by chris christie the other day -- they talked about the alleged hug with chris christie and president obama. >> governor christie has dealt with crisis like no one else on that stage ever has. he dealt with hundreds of thousands of people without power and people dying. if people want to criticize the way he dealt with a national disaster, i like to see them deal with it differently. that was the second worst natural disaster that hit this country. he dealt with it in a correct way. that is difference between him and everyone else on the stage. he has been tested. john: you think there will be fisticuffs tonight?

will it be a calm debate or a raucous debate? >> i hope it is sensitive, but -- i hope it is substantive but , no doubt, as we get closer to election day there will be differences of opinions. i hope it is substantive. we have seen other rates that have been lesser. >> from ted cruz's perspective, he want to focus on the issues and believes that there is a marketplace for ideas, and that his ideas are the best. mark: thank you very much. we appreciate you joining us. when we come back, campbell brown and john ralston join us here in sin city right after this. ♪

♪

john: we are joined now by our friend and cofounder of the 74 million.org, and dedicated crusader against saying the front runner, a.k.a. he who must not be named, named on television, campbell brown. we also joined by the crown jewel of nevada, political commentator, john ralston. we can say your name on tv. you guys are keen observers of these debates and presidential politics in general. what will be different about this debate from any of the previous republican debate? john: i think the most interesting thing, you guys know this, it is so dependent on the moderators, right? not only the questions that they asked, but whether they will actually let a real debate take place. not just a casual exchange. the whole cruz-rubio dynamic is the most interesting thing to watch. they clearly want the mantle of, if trop falls.

i didn't know what the rules were. that will be the most interesting thing to watch. donald trump will do what he was. ted cruz will not come back at donald trump. he will change the subject. i think that ted cruz and marco rubio -- if they let them actually have a debate, that would be interesting. cambell: and ted cruz and marco rubio on the national security stuff. ted cruz has a real vulnerability because of how he bearhuged rand paul and obama took certain extent on the agitation list front. the electorate has certainly moved in a more hawkish direction since then. he has to be able to defend that. marco rubio is certainly going to go after him. mark: we have been talking about how many days we are away from iowa and you're a big student of , whether your stay contest is in fact in the big four or a stepchild to iowa -- john: that hurts me. mark: i know, but you know that it is true. a two-part question.

how well conditioned on the republican side do you think they'll be influential? and who has an organization in the state? john: that's a key question, the organizational question. this caucus is odd. it is four hours or two hours on a tuesday night depending on what county you live in. it could be terrible weather affecting it in every county except clark county. , you really do need an organization. there only three campaigns organized here, marco rubio ted , cruz, and jeb bush whether or not that matters anymore. it goes into the narrative of tonight. ted cruz and marco rubio see nevada as important. especially marco rubio, he does not do well in iowa and until he gets to nevada. i do think that between ted cruz and marco rubio, you still have donald trump. he is showing up very well. i don't put much stock in most polls. certainly, polls in nevada before the caucus is have never been any good. donald trump starts tweeting out

caucus locations, that could be better than a ground party. cambell: one other thing. i'm curious to see if ted cruz finally does this despite the , broke out between the dark lord and ted cruz this week, over what may have happened behind closed doors and whether ted cruz has authenticity. he says one thing to donors and another thing to voters. he was tweeting out and putting out a conciliatory message to try to defuse the situation. but, clearly, he has to decide if he comes under attack tonight, how hard and whether or not to push back. he has not up until now, but i think there's an opportunity for him to really prosecute a case against he who shall not be named. for not being a conservative. nobody has done that or done that effectively. john: you are now talking about donald trump.

you decided that we will talk about donald trump, but will not use the word "trump." let me ask you this question -- of all of donald trump revocations in the campaign, the proposed muslim ban is the most provocative. what we have seen since he proposed it was that most of the republican party is in favor of it, most of the country is against it, and most republican leaders are against it. so, if you're a republican, not saying that you are, but if you were -- would you be heartened by the fact that the republican faction is against donald trump or would you be depressed about the fact that 60% of the republican electorate thinks it's a great idea? cambell: i think we're in a bernardino and wherearris -- paris people are afraid. i'm not sure if you would get that same number i month from now. i think it is a moment that requires leadership.

and somebody else to stand up and make a case for why things should be different. i think you may see that tonight. i don't think -- john: do you expect republican to denounce donald trump a week ago to take that argument to him tonight? john: i don't think they will do that. there is this craven behavior toward he who should not be named that goes on with most of the republican candidates. campbell says that we are in a moment, but we have been thinking that from the moment that donald trump announced. somehow, he has tapped into something. it might scare some of us and may not be leadership the way that we talk about leadership, and yet, he is still up there. we keep thinking ok when , donald trump falls -- i think that there is fear among some of these other candidate that going after him is toxic to them. cambell: being a blowhard is not a foreign policy. if somebody gets on that stage tonight and is able to articulate a policy of what this country should do in response to what is going on to address those fears, that is pretty powerful. i just don't think anybody has

done it very effectively yet. john: i think marco rubio has done in past debates. i just think you're being too optimistic about what people really want to hear. the reason donald trump has gone as far as he has is because he is appealing to the visceral nature of a certain cohort in the republican race. mark: who is the most likely nominee? cambell: i would say marco rubio at this point. marco rubio and ted cruz. john: i think marco rubio and then ted cruz. i agree. john: neither of them said donald trump. john: i still think it is possible. i'm not saying that it is impossible. cambell: very quickly, 30% of the country identifies as republican. what are his numbers? around 30%? that's 10% of the country. john: in national polls, you do hampshire,a, new etc.

john: you almost got it done. campbell brown, john ralston, you are both excellent and fun to be with. thank you for being here. we'll be right back. ♪

♪ >> as long as they are listening to me and not listening to -- we'll be fine. >> are there issues you are talking about that you are getting more attention for? >> i do wish that. mark: which one? >> for a year i have been talking about taking the caliphate away from them because that is what gives them the ability to carry out their global jihad.

finally, everybody is starting to talk about it. we've been talking about taking the oil away from them. people are starting to catch up on that now. i wish people would pay attention when i say these things. not only when something else as that. mark: you're emphasizing that you wish people paid more attention to? >> we need to emphasize the importance of getting the moderate muslim community involved. they have to be the ones who are identifying the radical elements , because that is the only way that we as a nation will feel comfortable. mark: that was dr. ben carson just a short time ago. joining us now is his campaign manager. and former pennsylvania congressman and current supporter of john kasich for president bob walker. , thank you for joining us. i asked your candidate about a domestic issue that was not being discussed. he named a homeland security

issue, not health care, jobs, economy -- is this all about national security? >> right now, we're certainly in a foreign policy, international security, domestic security interest. mark: you think that will carry straight through iowa? >> no. mark: do you agree with that? >> i think national security is the prime issue right now in the minds of people. i think that it is really important that we recognize that the next president will have to deal with the issues that go will be on national security. jobs, economy, all of those. that is the reason why we think we have the most qualified candidate, because he has dealt with all of those issues over a long time frame. we think that will be attractive to the american people. here is somebody from day one who can handle the issues. john: let me ask you a question about your candidates. congressman your candidate has , an incredible record and resume -- governor of ohio, all

of that. why is john kasich not caught on more so far? >> i think we are on schedule and we are on target, because we thought from the outset that we were going to problems getting the national name identification --hich a lot of these holes polls are. when you go to new hampshire, there is basically a tie among five people if you take the margin of error into account. we think we are playing very well there. we have a very strong organizational campaign and we are getting very good reaction out of our town meetings. 60% sign-up rate after town meetings. john: your guy for a little while as a co-frontrunner in the race. there is not a single pull out there that does not show him trading downward. what happened to your guy? >> the race took to foreign policy which is not his strong , suit, but he is getting there. four years ago, newt gingrich was in first place and the winner was in sixth.

i don't really put a lot of credit -- john: they had not been the front runner and falling down to be the front runner again. once you're on the downward slide, is it possible to turn it around? >> the key number for me to approval rating, which is sky high best in the , field. he continues to be the only republican that consistently beat hillary clinton. if you look at the new york times, putting each of the candidates head to head in iowa, he beats all of them. i think we are fine. mark: do either of you think we will have a nominee by the end of march, or will it go longer than that? >> longer. mark: congressman? >> i think the nominee will ultimately be chosen by the people, but i hold out the chance that we could end up in a situation where the convention will actually pick the candidate. mark: if donald trump wins early contest, will there be a closing of ranks? or will there be people looking

to stop them about what? >> i can't imagine the establishment will ever closer ranks around him. 65% that are currently voting , perhaps, but the establishment, i don't see that ever happening. >> it is a long campaign. what we have seen in a number of campaigns is that the fact of a -- the fact that you still have a large percentage of voters out there you could go to another , candidate. when you go to the south, that will be one set of numbers and . when you get to the midwest that , as a whole another set of numbers because a lot of those those are winner eight take all states in terms of delegates. mark: is there a moment where candidate seems discouraged by the current state of the campaign? >> i have not. >> we have 5 million facebook friends. one million donations.

things are fine. john: if ben carson strategy for this debate different that any of the previous ones? >> he'll be more aggressive. john: what about john kasich? >> not a lot of difference. he is probably going to emphasize national security credentials more than economic credentials in this debate. the fact is that he wants to look at this whole campaign as being about issues which need to be dealt with by the next president. mark: congressman walker, thank you very much. we appreciate you joining us. thank you for coming on the show. we'll be right back after this. ♪

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john: that is just about all from us here in vegas. a bigger night for donald trump or ted cruz? mark: a bigger night for ted cruz. john: we agree on that. mark: a big night for everybody. john: of course. check out our website politics.com for our coverage of the gop showdown, the debate report cards, and every thing that we will do. until then, in the morning, win we see you again, tomorrow afternoon, and on the web in the morning. on the tube at 5:00 and 8:00 eastern, we are live 24/7 on bloomberg politics.com, from las vegas, i have one thing to say to you. mark: he's running. enjoy the debate. sayonara. ♪

♪ is wednesday, the 16th of december. this is "trending business". ♪ >> here's what we are watching this morning, asia's advance, snapping a six-day slide and rallied from its lowest in more than two months. chance the fed will move later. a record reverse after third-quarter profit missed estimates. they raise prices to off-site falling sales at product.

paradrada. you let us know what you think of today's top stories by following me on twitter. don't forget to include trending business. gettingin indonesia underway. we have a look at the market so far. jakarta keeping with the overall theme. almost 1%. we're seeing very strong gains .cross the region we have a strike -- slight improvement in oil.