CNN Republican Town Hall from Wisconsin (Video Added)

Just when it seems like the Republican primary couldn’t get any more interesting, we’re now to the point where Ted Cruz is challenging Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate in Wisconsin ahead of the primary there on April 5th. I highly doubt Trump will take him up on the offer, but that would sure make for a must-watch 2 hours of primetime television. As it stands, CNN will be holding a Town Hall tonight with all three remaining GOP candidates

Tuesday, March 29, 2016
CNN Republican Town Hall from Wisconsin
8pm ET (7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm MT)

Candidates: Kasich, Trump, Cruz
Moderator: Anderson Cooper

Details on the Town Hall from CNN:

Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will air their increasingly acrimonious differences in a town hall Tuesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, airing on CNN and moderated by Anderson Cooper. Ohio Gov. John Kasich will also participate, rounding out the Republican presidential field.

The event comes one week before the state’s April 5 primary, a critical test of the candidates’ strength before the campaign heads to eastern states later in the month.

This is a town hall event, candidates will each get 1 hour of time separately to answer questions from the moderator and the audience.

However, Cruz is upping the ante, asking Trump to combine his hour into a one-on-one debate. Report from RealClearPolitics:

Ted Cruz challenged Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate at a rally in Wisconsin today. Instead of a planned town hall moderated by CNN where each Republican presidential candidate will appear separately, Cruz called for a face off with the Republican frontrunner.

“Tomorrow [Tuesday, March 29th, 2016] CNN has two town halls back to back. An hour with me, an hour with Donald Trump in the same location. We should make it a debate. Let’s make it a two-hour debate. CNN has already scheduled it. You’ve got a venue. You’ve got a location. You’ve got TV cameras. The only thing missing is Donald Trump because he’s too scared to debate,” Cruz told CNN on Monday.

Here is video of Cruz pleading his case on Monday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ouNJ55G3qs

Polls show Wisconsin a virtual tie right now with a slight nod toward Cruz leading at around 1 percent on average. This race will come down to the wire and may be a similarly slim margin such as what we saw in Missouri. On the other hand, I see it entirely possible that either Trump or Cruz catches some support in the coming days and breaks out a 4 or 5 point victory by taking some of Kasich’s votes and winning late-deciders.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker endorsed Ted Cruz today, which could give him the boost he needs to close the deal:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker made it official Tuesday, endorsing Ted Cruz a week ahead of the state’s pivotal Republican primary.

Cruz is “the best positioned by far” to defeat Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination and to win a general election over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Walker told Wisconsin radio talk show host Charlie Sykes.

“Ted Cruz is a principled constitutional conservative who understands that power belongs to the states — and to the people — and not bureaucrats in Washington,” Walker said.

Cruz, who worked for the endorsement, has said he is “a big, big fan” of the governor, and that he is a “true conservative.”

The endorsement of Cruz is not surprising. Walker said last week that Cruz is the only candidate who can beat Donald Trump, and Cruz previously tried to help Walker raise money to pay off his campaign debt.

Wisconsin Republicans and Democrats will vote in their respective primaries on April 5th.

Update

Here is the full video of the CNN Presidential Town Hall from Wisconsin on Tuesday, March 29th:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbrUC-a2BbU