Last night, the Republican presidential candidates held their third debate at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) played host and moderator to two debates with the first featuring the four candidates with the lowest poll numbers and the second featuring the final 10 candidates. Several have dubbed theses debates the JV and Varsity debates. The past two debates,
candidates have squared off in attacks against each other and at points reached a comical version of a presidential debate. Last night was the complete opposite. Candidates stood together to focus on issues instead of each other, and several outsiders had critical moments that may improve their standing.

The best exchange of the night goes to Marco Rubio, for deflecting an attack from Jeb Bush. A question asked by the moderator focused on how The Sentinel, a Florida-based newspaper, has called for Rubio's resignation as Senator for missing votes. Jeb Bush continued the attack yet was met by a stone wall put up by Rubio, who took this opportunity to refocus the debate on how, together, they need to talk about issues, and not each other.

Questions asked by the moderators focused on pitting candidates against each other. At a critical moment in the debate, Ted Cruz dodged a question related to the recent raising of the debt ceiling. Cruz then attacked the moderators and the media on how softer, issue-based questions were offered to the Democrats during their debates while baiting and pitting candidates against each other was a common theme here. This was one of Cruz's best moments, as he shined through for the first time during this campaign.

Continuing on how and which questions were asked, Jeb Bush was asked a question regarding regulation on Draft Kings, a popular daily fantasy football website. Insider trading and other forms of speculation have recently been presented as a possibly illegal venture. Christie brought the conversation back to important issues and questioned the relevance of why regulation on fantasy football is being discussed at a presidential debate.

Debate number three featured several different elements from the candidates on the Republican side. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Chris Christie had key moments with solid sound bites that can have an effect on their numbers and campaigns. The two frontrunners, Trump and Carson, really were in the background and did not feature anything new. As their numbers continue to build, will this debate propel a career politician into the top two, or will their "outsider" approach keep them on top?