It's been circled on the calendar for months, and tonight it is finally here! The first Republican presidential primary debate will be held in Milwaukee, minus Donald Trump.
"We have some really strong Republican candidates" said political commentator Anthony Russo, "And although Trump has painted this as 100% his race, I don't think that's true. I do think that he's going to come out of the Republican side obviously as the winner, but we need to have some transparency on how our next administration is going to be run."
Tonight will be an opportunity for America to see and hear, the rest of the Republicans, or at least the 8 that qualified for the GOP debate.
Topping the list is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
"Ron DeSantis' goal is to make clear that he is the only viable alternative to Trump" said Rice University political science professor, Mark Jones, "Every candidate other than DeSantis, this debate gives them an opportunity to introduce themselves to many Republican primary voters who don't know a lot about them."
The first Republican presidential primary debate will carried live on News Radio 740 KTRH.
Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP / Getty Images