The Republican presidential candidates debated for the third time Wednesday in the 2016 nomination contest, this time in battleground Colorado, as they compete to narrow down the wide-open contest.

Primetime Republican Presidential Debate Live Updates

All updates are in eastern standard time.

11:29 p.m.

Here's a look at how the candidates fared during the debate in three charts.

10:30 p.m.

The head of the Republican National Committee is attacking CNBC for its performance in the debate.

Chairman Reince Priebus sent out the following tweets after the debate Wednesday:

The candidates openly disparaged CNBC's moderators during the debate because of the questions that were presented, along with the mainstream media in general.

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10:10 p.m.

The discussion right now is on reforming medicare. There are different ideas, including moving to health saving plans by Carson, or raising the medicare enrollment age. Fiorina says what needs to be done first is figuring out how medicare got to this point.

Closing statements are now underway.

Ted Cruz says he is a proven fighter in Washington. In his closing remarks, Cruz notes his stances against the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood and says he will always "fight for freedom."

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson says his candidacy is proof that Americans are "waking up" and recognizing the value in a citizen government. He is telling voters not to throw away the values that have made America a great nation "for the sake of political correctness."

Former CEO Carly Fiorina says the election is about more than "a lot of plans" and a lot of "good intentions."

She promises, if elected, to "cut this government to size and hold it accountable."

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is using his closing statement to give a preview of his filibuster against a debt ceiling deal in Congress. Paul says he objects to raising the federal debt ceiling, because he wants "a government so small I can barely see it."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is using his closing statement to look into the camera and ask voters two questions: "Are you fed up?" and "Are you serious about this election?"

He says he's the one who can change the culture in Washington.

Marco Rubio is closing his debate performance by promising to "expand" the American dream. The Florida senator says he can never repay his "debt to America" and says he is running because wants to make sure that the same opportunities are there for others.

John Kasich is ending the debate the way he began, with an animated appeal to communities to take on a bigger role in solving their problems, rather than the federal government.

The Ohio governor says: "America is not great from the top down. America is great from the bottom up."

Donald Trump says America has him to thank for keeping the third Republican presidential debate to two hours, rather than three hours or more. Trump says in his closing statement that he could stand on stage all night, but no one wants to watch a three-hour debate.

The original plan had been two hours of debate, not counting commercials. Both Trump and Ben Carson sent CNBC a letter demanding that the debate be kept to two hours total.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is promising to be a "unifier." Bush says he will "change the culture in Washington, just as I changed the culture in Tallahassee." Bush describes himself as an outsider and says politicians from Washington "continue to make things worse."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says none of Republican candidates on the debate stage is running for president because of ego. Instead, he says they're making the sacrifice to run so they can get America back on track.

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10:05 p.m.

Some fact-checking from the Associated Press:

CARSON: His proposed flat-rate tax, which would have everyone pay an income tax rate of about 15 percent, "works out very well" in budget terms because it would spark enough economic growth to offset the lower rate.

THE FACTS: Carson says his proposed tax would not increase the budget deficit because he would tax the entire economic output of the U.S. - the gross domestic product - plus corporate income and capital gains.

Carson has not laid out a detailed plan, so it is difficult to measure how it would affect revenues or the economy. But based on what he said, he's double counting because corporate revenues are part of the GDP.

A tax rate of 15 percent would be a huge tax cut for the wealthy. The top income tax rate for individuals is now 39.6 percent. The corporate tax rate for corporations is 35 percent.

To help offset the rate cuts, Carson said he would "get rid of all the deductions and all the loopholes." That's a bold proposal, considering how popular many tax breaks are, including deductions for interest on home mortgages and charitable contributions, as well as exemptions for health insurance and retirement savings.

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TRUMP: "I'm putting up 100 percent of my own money."

THE FACTS: No, he's not.

Of $3.9 million raised for his campaign in the latest fundraising quarter, only $100,000 came from his own pocket. That was one major revelation from the latest batch of presidential fundraising reports, filed Oct. 15 with the Federal Election Commission.

That's a drastic shift from his springtime fundraising report, when he loaned his campaign nearly all of the $1.9 million it had.

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BUSH: "Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up for work."

RUBIO: "Barack Obama missed 60 or 70 percent of his votes" when running for president while he was in the Senate.

THE FACTS: Bush correctly cited Rubio's spotty attendance record in the Senate since running for president, but ignored the fact that this is common when someone in public office runs a White House campaign -and previous candidates were absent far more often. Bush himself is free to run for president as he pleases, because he doesn't have a day job from which to be absent.

For his part, Rubio didn't offer a fair comparison when comparing his Senate voting rate with Obama's.

From Oct. 27, 2014, to Oct. 26, 2015, Rubio was absent for 26 percent of Senate votes, a worse attendance record than other senators running for president, according to an analysis by GovTrack.us, which tracks congressional voting records.

But in a comparable period in the 2008 race - from Oct. 23, 2006, to Oct. 22, 2007, Obama was absent for 29 percent of votes, a bit more than Rubio's absences, but not as much more as Rubio charged. Republican John McCain was absent for 51 percent of Senate votes in that period.

Both Obama and McCain went on to miss an even bigger share of Senate votes as the election progressed - an expected development bound to be seen again in 2016.

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CHRISTIE: The federal government has "stolen" the Social Security taxes paid by workers and spent it on other things. "It isn't their money any more... It got stolen from them. It's not theirs anymore. The government stole it and spent it a long time ago."

THE FACTS: The money is not stolen, it's borrowed.

Over the past 30 years, Social Security has collected about $2.7 trillion more in payroll taxes than it has paid in benefits. By law, the Treasury Department has invested the surplus in U.S. Treasury bonds.

Over that same time period, the federal government has run budget deficits in all but a few years. To finance the deficits, the government has borrowed money, from other government agencies as well as public debt markets.

The money from Social Security has been spent, but Social Security holds Treasury bonds worth $2.7 trillion, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Saying the money has been stolen assumes that the federal government will not honor the bonds.

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SEN. RAND PAUL: The new budget agreement "will explode the deficit, it will allow President Obama to borrow unlimited amounts of money."

THE FACTS: The agreement allows $80 billion more spending over the next two years, which is only a small addition to the $3.67 trillion the government spends every year. The government's annual budget deficit has declined to $439 billion, about 2.5 percent of GDP, below the average for the past 40 years.

Overall, whatever its faults, most economists have responded to this week's budget deal between Congress and the White House with a sigh of relief. The agreement, approved by the House earlier Wednesday, sets funding levels and extends the government's borrowing limit for two more years, thereby taking the threat of a government shutdown and debt default off the table.

A 2013 budget fight led to a 16-day partial government shutdown that was widely blamed by most economists for sharp drops in consumer and business confidence that dragged on the economy.

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10 p.m.

Christie is asked about climate change. He says the solution is to invest in all types of energy -- but the government should not be doing the investing. The states should, instead, be working with the private sector.

Paul is asked whether Ronald Reagan was right to oppose medicare. He says safety net programs are important, but the problem is the baby boomers are drawing too much money. He calls for gradually raising the age that workers can take money from medicare.

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9:55 p.m.

Bush is asked about whether fantasy sports should be considered gambling. Bush says there should be some regulation. He says he is not sure the federal government is the proper place.

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9:55 p.m.

Kasich gets a question about student loan debt. He says Ohio is changing its system. He says colleges will not get money unless the students pass their class. He says the colleges also have too many non-instructional assets. Kasich says there should also be more programs where students get funding for school in return for public service.

Bush responds that the states need to do this, not the federal government.

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9:50 p.m.

Fiorina is asked a question about whether the federal government should play a bigger role in getting workers to have retirement plans. Fiorina echoes what she's been saying all debate: every time the government gets involved things get worse.

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9:45 p.m.

Trump is asked whether he would be ok if his employees brought guns to work. He said yes, he would feel more comfortable. This was regarding gun-free zones, and in particular Oregon school shooting. Guns were allowed on campus in the Oregon shooting, which special permission.

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9:37 p.m.

Kasich is asked the marijuana legalization question, a big deal in Colorado. Kasich says Colorado's policy sends mixed signals to young people.

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9:35 p.m.

Bush is asked a question about his tax plan, which would tax capital gains at a lower rate. Bush said the plan would give a better playing field for regular people.

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9:30 p.m.

Carson is asked about subsidies, particularly his previous support of using oil subsidies to fund ethanol. He says he was wrong, and he now supports getting rid of all subsidies.

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9:25 p.m.

Trump denies the premise of a question regarding the visas, but he uses his time to attack SuperPACs, saying they're bad for the country.

The moderator was asking him about his comment that Sen. Rubio was "Mark Zuckerberg's personal senator," referencing Zuckerberg's support for increasing H1B visas. Trump denied making that statement. This is from Trump's campaign site:

Increase prevailing wage for H-1Bs. We graduate two times more Americans with STEM degrees each year than find STEM jobs, yet as much as two-thirds of entry-level hiring for IT jobs is accomplished through the H-1B program. More than half of H-1B visas are issued for the program's lowest allowable wage level, and more than eighty percent for its bottom two. Raising the prevailing wage paid to H-1Bs will force companies to give these coveted entry-level jobs to the existing domestic pool of unemployed native and immigrant workers in the U.S., instead of flying in cheaper workers from overseas. This will improve the number of black, Hispanic and female workers in Silicon Valley who have been passed over in favor of the H-1B program. Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.

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9:25 p.m.

Rubio is asked about H1B visas and his recent call to increase the visas. Rubio says companies that abuse the program should be barred from the program. He says the solution is to better train Americans to take these jobs.

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9:15 p.m.

Carson is asked why he would serve on the board of Costco, which has policies that benefit homosexuality. Carson says there is no reason you can't be fair to homosexuals and still belief marriage needs to be between one man and one woman.

Carson is then asked about a supplement company that claimed it could cure several diseases. He said he thinks the product was good and he's done some speaking for them, but he doesn't represent them. The moderator mentions that he is on the company's homepage, and he says that was done without his knowledge.

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9:10 p.m.

Cruz is asked about pay parity for women. He says we have to turn the economy around for everything. He says the struggle of single moms is extraordinary. He says under President Obama, the median wage for women has actually dropped. He blames big government.

Fiorina jumps in and says every policy Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has been bad for women, calls Clinton a hypocrite.

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9:05 p.m.

Fiorina is asked about going government regulation regarding the Internet vs. brick-and-mortar companies. She says it's a sign of crony capitalism. She says we have to reduce the size of government to solve the issue.

Rubio is asked whether his personal finances and whether voters can trust him with their money. He says that was nothing more than discredited attacks from Democrats, and he is more worried about the economy of everyday struggling Americans.

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9 p.m.

Donald Trump is asked about bankruptcy. He says all big businessmen have used bankruptcy laws. He says if it means anything, it means he's good at solving debt problems.

Dr. Ben Carson is asked about the recent news about drug companies buying generics and raising prices on the drugs at high levels. Carson says the issue is a problem, but he says the problem is government regulation and that needs to change.

Christie is asked a question about the GM ignition switch defect and whether the leaders at the company should belong behind bars. Christie says that's where they should be, and blames the Justice Dept., which he calls a "political justice dept."

Christie says there are already laws to deal with companies that are price gouging, in reference to the pharmaceutical companies.

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8:50 p.m.

Christie is asked about when it's ok to cut benefits that are part of a social compact (i.e. raising social security age). Christie said politicians have lied to the American people by taking from entitlements.

Huckabee says yes, the govenrment has stolen and lied about social security and medicare. He says people are sick of expecting the government to do something. However, he says raising the social security age is blaming the elderly for the politicians' lies. He says it's a question of morality.

Christie says the best way to treat respect the elderly is to treat them like adults and tell them the truth.

Cruz says the debt plan is more of the same from Washington. He also says Huckabee and Christie are right in their own way. He says we should leave the social security plan the same for seniors, but change social security for younger workers.

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8:45 p.m.

Carly Fiorina is asked why America should hire her after she was fired from HP and lambasted by the Wall Street. She says she laid the foundation for HPs turnaround and the company is doing better than ever. She says she was fired because of disagreements in the board room.

Sen. Ted Cruz is asked about the new debt plan in Congress and his opposition to it. Cruz takes CNBC to task for its question and said it shows how biased the media is. He does not answer the question.

The question goes to Sen. Paul Rand, who says he opposes the plan because he says it takes money from entitlements (i.e. social security) and spends it on other items. "Right and left are spending into oblivion." He says we should use the debt ceiling to force reform.

Rand is asked why Boehner and House Speaker-designate Paul Ryan support the plan. Rand says he doesn't see much change coming to Congress.

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8:40 p.m.

Jeb Bush is asked about falling poll numbers and his decision to slash his payroll. Bush said he is more concerned about how disfunctional Washington is and doesn't want his campaign to reflect that.

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8:35 p.m. EDT

Sen. Marco Rubio is asked why he feels, as a young man, he needs to rush to the White House. Rubio has come under fire for his missed votes in the Senate. Rubio says this country doesn't have time for him to wait.

CNBC moderators specifically referenced the Sun-Sentinel editorial that called on Rubio to quit for missing votes and saying he hates his job. He said the editorial is an example of media bias in this country.

Jeb Bush is now taking him to task for not doing his job in the Senate. Rubio fights back by saying he never heard Bush complain about Sen. John McCain's missed votes when he ran for president.

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8:33 p.m. EDT

Sen. Ted Cruz says he unveiled a flat tax plan today on his website.

Carly Fiorina says we've been talking about changing the tax code for years. Instead, the code is bigger than ever. Fiorina says she wants to reduce the 70,000-page tax code down to three, to level the playing field for everyone.

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8:28 p.m. EDT

Dr. Ben Carson is asked about his tax plan and whether it would work. Carson compares his plan to the 10 percent tithe to churches. He says the plan is 15 percent.

Kasich says Carson's and Trump's plans are not realistic and are a fantasy tax plan. Kasich says his experience helped turn Ohio around.

Trump says Kasich got lucky because of fracking. He said he was also a top man at Lehmann Brothers.

Kasich says his state has not just energy but diverse industries.

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8:24 p.m. EDT

Donald Trump is asked if his political platform is for real.

He says the plan is supported by economist Larry Kudlow. He disparages the "not nice question." CNBC is

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8:15 p.m. EDT

The debate has begun. The top 10 presidential candidates by poll numbers are now on the stage. The first question: what is your biggest weakness?

Ohio Gov. John Kasich: Avoided the question.

Mike Huckabee: I play by the rules.

Jeb Bush: Patient, can't fake anger. "I am bothered that people are rewarded for tearing this country down."

Sen. Marco Rubio: My optimism. "Our greatest days lie ahead."

Donald Trump: I'm too trusting. "When they let me down, if they let me down, I don't forgive."

Dr. Ben Carnson: Didn't recognize that he could be president until thousands asked him to do it.

Carly Fiorina: Doesn't smile enough.

Sen. Ted Cruz: I'm a fighter.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: Doesn't see a lot of weakness on the Republican stage. Doesn't answer about himself.

Sen. Rand Paul: Avoided the question.

Live Blog 3rd GOP Debate: 10/13/15

Live Blog 3rd GOP Debate: 10/28/15

Earlier Debate

All updates from the Associated Press. Set to Mountain time.

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5:25 p.m.

As Republicans debate, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton is wooing supporters in New Hampshire by describing the match-up as "a little scary" and saying she "feels sorry" for her would-be challengers.

The debates, she says, are like a "reality TV show, but the cast of characters are out of touch with actual reality."

The Republican candidates, she tells Democrats gathered in Bartlett, New Hampshire, for a party dinner, "compete to insult each other."

But, she adds, "for those of you masochistic enough to want to watch we'll try to get you out" of the event in time.

Clinton is in the midst of a two-day campaign swing throughout New Hampshire.

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5:16 p.m.

The undercard debate among the four lowest-standing GOP presidential hopefuls has concluded. The prime-time debate among the top 10 competitors begins at 6 p.m.

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5:15 p.m.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is using his closing remarks at the debate to take a swipe at Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He says the former secretary of state would take the country further down the road toward socialism. He says, "My message is to conservatives: This is our hour."

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is making a reference to fellow Republican Donald Trump's campaign slogan "Make America great again" in his closing statement. Graham says: "America is great. I intend to make America strong again."

Former New York Gov. George Pataki says he wants to put aside partisan differences to get things done. Pataki says in his closing: "We are one America. We work together across party lines."

And former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is referencing the steelworkers he represented in Congress. Santorum says he is aligning himself with working men and women who feel Washington doesn't care about them.

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5:12 p.m.

Can you tell a presidential candidate by his smartphone apps?

The four low-polling Republican presidential candidates rattled off their favorite apps during the third GOP presidential debate.

Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says he must be "the last American" who doesn't have an iPhone. Instead he uses a BlackBerry.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham says the only reason he has an iPhone is because he gave his cell number to Donald Trump. Graham had to get another phone after the real estate developer read his number at a rally. He likes the Fox News app.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki uses ride-hailing app Uber and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum clicks on the NHL app and the Wall Street Journal's.

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5:10 p.m.

Lindsey Graham is taking a personal approach to answering a question about Social Security.

The South Carolina senator says he understands better than most how the program keeps people out of poverty.

He says without the government payments his family "wouldn't have made it" after his father — a bar owner — died.

He says he "will save Social Security because I know why it exists."

Graham is proposing to shore up the program by asking the well-off to give up some benefits. He also says young people would have to work longer to help pay for benefits.

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5:05 p.m.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says if former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum wants to concede the tax-cut wing of the Republican Party to him, he's fine with that.

Jindal says during the early Republican presidential debate that Republicans should be willing to say they want to cut taxes in order to grow the economy.

Jindal's jab comes as Santorum says he wants to reduce the size of government and the deficit, and adding a trillion dollars in tax cuts isn't the way to do it.

Santorum says the key to addressing poverty is focusing on the family economy. He says not enough is said about how important stable families are to making middle America safe.

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5:00 p.m.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum isn't worried about a lack of competition in the nation's beer industry. Health care, though, is another story.

Anheuser-Busch is in the process of buying its top competitor, SABMiller, the largest merger in the beer industry. But Santorum says the people of Colorado need not worry, as the state's active craft brewing industry provides plenty of options for beer lovers.

On corporate competition as a whole, Santorum is taking a shot at the health care industry. He says the Affordable Care Act reduces competition in the insurance market, pushing out small insurers. He says it's part of Democrats' plan to lead the nation to a single-payer health care system.

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4:54 p.m.

Rick Santorum is defending his support for reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, an unpopular position with some fiscal hardliners, such as the influential anti-tax group Club for Growth.

Santorum is calling the government entity that provides loans to firms seeking business overseas a way to keep U.S. businesses competitive.

Santorum says the Ex-Im Bank's purpose is not to protect corporate giants like General Electric or Boeing.

Sticking with his blue-collar conservative emphasis, Santorum says: "The American workers. That's why we need to have a level playing field to compete with the rest of the world."

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4:51 p.m.

Rick Santorum says immigrants are partially to blame for sluggish wage growth.

The former Pennsylvania senator was asked about jobs and wages at the Republican undercard debate Wednesday night.

He argues that the immigration policy backed by his rival, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, would allow more immigrants in the country and depress wages.

He says "we have to make sure that we're not flooding this country" with low-wage workers.

Graham says it's not realistic to deport 11 million immigrants.

Santorum says workers need to be trained in the skills that are needed, adding "we don't have the right match." He advocates for more job training and better education.

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4:50 p.m.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is dodging a question about whether companies owe anything to their country in addition to their shareholders.

Graham is avoiding the question during the early Republican presidential debate, saying corporate taxes need to be lowered so companies don't leave.

But then he pivots to say his goal is to help people who earn too much to be on public assistance but are still living paycheck to paycheck.

Graham says the purpose of his presidency is to grow the economy, and the best way to do that is to grow the middle class and rebuild the military.

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4:46 p.m.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says it'd be nice to have universal family leave, but the government can't mandate it.

Jindal is debating in the undercard round of the third Republican presidential debate. He is responding to a question about whether Washington should mandate paid maternity leave.

Jindal says, "The government can't wave a magic wand and make that happen." He adds that government regulations already hurt job growth in many ways.

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4:38 p.m.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki says he would eliminate "virtually every single" corporate tax loophole in an effort to take on Wall Street. But he's not giving specifics on which, if any, he'd keep.

Instead, Pataki says he'd reduce the tax rate on manufacturing to 12 percent, the lowest in the world. He also says he'd create a fairer tax system for all Americans.

Pataki says it's essential to end the "corrupt connection" between Washington and Wall Street, and says his record passing tax cuts through a Democratic legislature shows he can get it done.

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4:36 p.m.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is launching into a spirited defense of his Republican credentials.

Asked if his acknowledgment of climate change and support for a path to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S. illegally disqualified him from the GOP, he responds, "I'm tired of telling people what they want to hear."

On climate change, he says, "I just want a solution that will be good for the economy, that doesn't destroy it."

On immigration, he says, "We're not going to deport 11 million people."

He says it's time for Republicans to embrace reality because that's how they will win and fix problems.

Taking on insurgent Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, Graham says he "went to the Soviet Union for his honeymoon, and I don't think he ever came back."

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4:34 p.m.

The first attack on Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in the early Republican presidential candidate debate comes from former New York Gov. George Pataki.

He says the former secretary of state should be disqualified from being president because she maintained an email server at her home and "We have no doubt that was hacked."

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham piled on, saying President Barack Obama's foreign policy needs to be completely replaced and Clinton should be the last person to do that.

Graham says if he's president "the party's over" for the world's dictators.

He says, "Make me commander-in-chief and this crap stops."

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4:30 p.m.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal promises to do for the United States what he's done for his state: cut spending and taxes.

Jindal is one of four longshot presidential contenders speaking at the GOP presidential debate. Even Republicans in his state have criticized him for cutting spending too much and refusing to raise any taxes or fees to close deficits. The Republican seeking to replace Jindal as governor, Sen. David Vitter, has pointedly said his tax policy will not be like Jindal's.

Jindal stands by his record, saying he's proud he cut taxes in Louisiana and will cut them more in Washington.

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4:24 p.m.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says the budget deal making its way through Congress is "a very bad deal."

Jindal was the first candidate to rail against the bipartisan deal at the GOP undercard debate — just hours after it passed the Republican-led House.

Asked if he'd rather see the government shut down, Jindal says that's a "false choice." He says the deal includes the promise of budget cuts down the road, but "tomorrow never seems to happen."

New York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham say they would back the deal.

Graham says he's focused solely on military spending, asking, "Will it restore our ability to defend this nation?"

The bipartisan deal calls for approximately $112 billion in additional spending over two years, with about $80 billion offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.

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4:07 p.m.

The first question of the undercard debate went to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who was asked why his experience in the government is more valuable than that of outsiders who are leading the nomination fight.

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2 p.m.

Donald Trump is complaining about the fairness of Wednesday night's debate before it even begins.

Trump said on Twitter Wednesday morning that he's "looking forward to what I am sure will be a very unfair debate!"

He's also accusing CNBC, the network hosting the debate, of reporting on "fictitious" poll numbers — that don't happen to favor him.

A handful of opinion surveys in early-voting Iowa and one national poll now show Trump in second place behind retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Trump has complained repeatedly about the two previous debates, taking issue with the moderators' questioning and how long they stretched.

He and Carson wrote a joint letter to CNBC threatening to boycott the debate unless the network limited it to two hours and allowed candidates to make opening and closing statements. The network agreed to the demands.