Republican debate 2016 live stream: time, TV schedule, how to watch online

Tonight’s sixth Republican debate will air on the Fox Business Network. But don’t worry: If you don’t have cable, you’ll still be able to tune in — an online live stream is free and available to all at FoxBusiness.com. The primetime debate will begin at 9 pm Eastern.

This time around, Fox chose to cut down on the number of candidates who will be permitted to attend. Just seven of the remaining 12 met the network’s more stringent polling qualifications for the primetime event. They are Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich.

The undercard debate has already concluded. The only candidates who attended were Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum — Rand Paul qualified, but boycotted it in protest of being dropped from the primetime segment.

Expect a whole lot of fireworks at the primetime event. Trump and Cruz are currently battling to win the Iowa caucuses (which are just two and a half weeks away), and the negative attacks are flying on both sides. Meanwhile, Bush, Christie, and Kasich are all desperate to revive their flailing campaigns with a strong performance in the New Hampshire primary, which means they’re directly competing with one another.

Finally, of course, there’s Rubio — the candidate whom many others perceive as the most dangerous in the long term. Pretty much every other candidate is desperately hoping Rubio stumbles in an early state, but he’s still polling second in New Hampshire and third in Iowa despite doing less campaigning on the ground there than many others. We’ll see whether he can hold on to his spot — and that will be sufficient to supplant Ted Cruz and the Trump juggernaut.

When: 9 pm Eastern

Where: North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center, South Carolina

TV: Fox Business Network

Online: At FoxBusiness.com, a free live stream will be available to all