Overnight Campaign: Republican showdown in Sin City

by Jonathan Easley - 12/15/15 5:46 PM ET

Welcome to OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

It’s debate night for 13 Republicans who will gather at the Venetian casino for the fifth GOP debate of the cycle.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports on what each of the nine contenders in the prime-time debate need to do for a winning night.

Donald Trump arrives into town with a huge lead over the rest of the field in the national polls. But Ted Cruz has enough momentum, particularly in Iowa, to put the rest of the contenders on notice. The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports from Las Vegas on Cruz’s surge.

Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown’s daughter, a former “American Idol” contestant will kick off the proceedings by singing the national anthem, The Hill’s Judy Kurtz reports.

Check The Hill all night for live-blogging of the action as it unfolds in real time, beginning with the early debate at 6, and again in the morning for a recap of the night’s winners and losers.

RACE TO 1600 PENN:

NOPE: The Hill’s Scott Wong reports: Speaker Paul Ryan sought to put an end to speculation that he could be the eventual Republican nominee at a brokered convention in Cleveland next year.

GIRLS: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Lena Dunham, the star of the hit HBO show “Girls,” will campaign for Hillary Clinton in January.

TODAY AT 1600 PENN: The Hill’s Jordan Fabian reports: The White House is accusing the Republican presidential contenders of besmirching the nation’s reputation with “offensive” remarks about Muslims.

ODDS AND ENDS:

TAKING IT UP A NOTCH: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Ben Carson escalated his feud with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, demanding the State Department investigate the nonprofit for alleged ties to terror groups.

RUN THE JEWELS: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Bernie Sanders sat for an interview with rapper Killer Mike to discuss the merits of Democratic Socialism.

CLIMATE FIGHT: The Hill’s Tim Devaney reports: Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer will run ads during Tuesday night’s GOP debate aimed at pressuring Republicans to support clean energy.

GIRL POWER: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: HBO’s “Girls” creator and star Lena Dunham will make campaign stops for Hillary Clinton on Jan. 9 in Des Moines and Iowa City, Iowa.

POLL POSITION

BACK ON TOP: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Donald Trump has edged back into the lead over Ted Cruz in Iowa, according to a new poll.

BIGGEST LEAD YET: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump continues to raise his ceiling of support, taking 38 percent in the latest ABC News-Washington Post national poll.

HOLDING STEADY: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Hillary Clinton maintained her double-digit lead over Bernie Sanders in Iowa, according to a new poll. A second Iowa poll released Tuesday found similar results, with Clinton boosted by a big lead among women, reports The Hill’s Lisa Hagen.

THE DAILY TRUMP

ON EDGE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: A handful of scuffles broke out a Trump rally in Las Vegas on Monday night.

STILL FEUDING: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump is unrelenting in his criticism of Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, taking to Twitter on Tuesday to call her “overrated” and “very bad at math.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“You know, President Obama ate one of your cousins.”

— Republican presidential contender Carly Fiorina to a dog in a new campaign video.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

NEVADA SENATE: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: The National Republican Senatorial Committee will run ads against Nevada Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez-Masto during the GOP debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. On the other side, the Nevada Democratic Party bought ads taking over the home page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that chided Cortez-Masto’s likely challenger, Rep. Joe Heck (R), as part of the “Party of Trump.”

MARYLAND SENATE: The political action committee supporting the National Organization for Women announced it will support Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) iin her primary fight against Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in the race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

MONEY WATCH

BILLIONAIRES CLUB: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump was to meet with GOP mega-donor and fellow billionaire Sheldon Adelson ahead of Tuesday’s presidential debate.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:

(All times Eastern)

The Republican presidential contenders will meet for the firth primary debate of the cycle in Las Vegas on tonight. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul will be on the prime-time stage for the 8:30 debate.

Donald Trump appears on Wednesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” rescheduled from October and holds a rally in Mesa, Ariz., at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Bernie Sanders will participate in an “interfaith roundtable” with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) at a mosque in Washington, D.C. at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

John Kasich will make a campaign stop in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, followed by a townhall in Ankeny, Iowa at 7:30 p.m.

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday holds an event with business magnate and philanthropist Warren Buffett in his native town of Omaha, Neb., where she will discuss her economic agenda. She then heads to events in Iowa City and Mason City, Iowa.

Carly Fiorina on Wednesday will headline an energy policy event at the Atlantis casino organized by Koch brothers supported Americans for Prosperity as part of its Road to Reform discussion series.

Rand Paul holds a meet and greet in Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday.

Marco Rubio holds rallies in Ankeny, Iowa and Manchester, N.H. on Wednesday.

Chris Christie will attend fundraisers in Palo Alto and Beverly Hills, California.

TWEET OF THE DAY

“The phrase ‘active shooter’ should not be one we have to teach our children. But it is.” —Hillary in Minneapolis

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 15, 2015