Five issues to watch for in the Republican debate
The four remaining Republican presidential candidates will face off in a CNN debate Wednesday night in Mesa, Arizona -- the last debate before a series of critical nominating contests.
The debate will give the candidates to hit on a number of hot topics that have dominated headlines as they campaign across the country. Here are a five issues the candidates are likely to broach:
Contraception
The Mesa debate marks the first debate since the controversy erupted over President Obama's new health care rule requiring insurance coverage for birth control. Republicans have largely framed the issue as one of religious liberty, and it could give the candidates a good opening Wednesday night to attack Mr. Obama's health care reforms as government overreach.
The issue offers both opportunities and risks for former Sen. Rick Santorum, one of the current frontrunners. Santorum often uses the issue of health care to attack his main GOP rival, Mitt Romney.
On the other hand, the issue could force Santorum to address some controversial remarks one of his campaign backers made about birth control, or his own recent remarks on prenatal screening. Any time that Santorum is forced to spend on issues like reproductive rights amounts to time sacrificed on the more pressing issue of the economy.
Electability
Santorum -- known for his staunch conservative views on social issues -- will try to focus on his economic message to convince voters he can appeal to a broad audience. Even though polls suggest Republican voters currently prefer Santorum over the other candidates, a USA Today/ Gallup survey released this week showed that more than half of Americans think Romney is the most electable GOP candidate. In every contest so far with entrance or exit polls, the most important candidate quality for voters is the ability to beat Mr. Obama.
In a speech in Phoenix Tuesday night, Santorum skipped over the social issues that are standard fare in his stump speech. Instead, he talked about manufacturing. His coal miner roots make him a good candidate against Mr. Obama, he said.
Both Romney and Rep. Ron Paul have taken on Santorum on economic issues, calling Santorum a fake fiscal conservative. Paul this week launched a negative ad against Santorum, calling him out for voting to raise the debt ceiling and supporting No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D, among other things.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will also make an appeal to a broad audience, telling Fox News today that in tonight's debate, he will "focus on the big solutions, talk with the American people and try to stay out of the kind of negativity that unfortunately has characterized way too much of this race."
Tax policies
As they broach economic issues, the candidates are sure to debate their proposed tax policies. Romney today laid out a plan for across-the-board income tax cuts, proposing to bring down each income tax rate by 20 percent.
On the campaign trail today, Santorum suggested Romney was following his lead by proposing certain tax reductions. "Welcome to the party," he joked in reference to the former Massachusetts governor.
Mr. Obama this week also laid out a plan to reduce the corporate tax rate.
Immigration
Immigration hasn't been the most pressing issue on the campaign trail, but debate on the subject has created some heated moments -- such as in the last Republican debate in Florida.
Like Florida, Arizona has a large Hispanic population, so immigration is once again likely to come up. Supporters of the Dream Act, a measure that would give a pathway to citizenship to some undocumented youth, will be protesting outside of the debate hall Wednesday night.
In Tucson today, Santorum addressed immigration policy, recalling that his grandfather spent five years apart from his family after he immigrated to the U.S. He suggested that it would be all right for undocumented immigrants to be separated from their families if they were sent home, saying "America is worth it to do it the right way."
Arizona is one of the next states to hold its nominating contest -- Republicans go to the polls on February 28.
Auto bailout
Along with Arizona, Michigan also weighs in on February 28.
Romney is trailing Santorum in polls there, in spite of his ties to the state. Both candidates opposed the federal government's bailout of the auto industry, but Santorum has suggested his stance on the issue has been more consistent.
The candidates could go after Gingrich for suggesting in his book "A Nation Like No Other" that Washington might force people to buy GM cars to revive the company.