How To Stream The GOP Debate

It's been quite the week for politics. The 2016 election cycle is soldiering on into the new year and already, prominent Republican candidates are gearing up for their sixth GOP debate on Thursday night. The event will be hosted by Fox Business Network, who had previously hosted the Nov. 10 debate. Neil Cavuto will be making his return as a moderator, along with Maria Bartiromo in an evening of politics that is not to be missed, especially considering the duo's performance during the Nov. 10 debate. Whether you'll be tuning in via tablet and smartphone or on a laptop, watching the debate is less a question of how to stream the GOP debate and more a matter of just when exactly you'd like to tune in.

Fox Business Network will be providing free live streaming via FoxBusiness.com as well as through their Fox News and Fox News Election HQ apps. All platforms require no authentication, so even if you don't have cable or access to a television, you'll still be good to go by the time the candidates take the stage at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center. Both the earlier debate and the primetime debate will be available for viewing via Fox Business' streaming services. Those uninterested in the undercard can skip the 6 p.m. EST start time and tune in when the main debate begins at 9 p.m. EST.

The Thursday night showdown marks a bit of a shakeup in terms of who made it into the primetime debate. Whereas there was once 11 candidates for the main event alone at one point, now just seven presidential hopefuls will share the stage come 9 p.m. Those candidates are Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump. Due to low polling numbers, Carly Fiorina has been bumped to the undercard. This marks the first time Fiorina has had to participate in the earlier debate since the first GOP debate all the way back in August. She will be joined by Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee.

The three undercard debaters may or may not be joined by another candidate whose primetime debate dreams were dashed. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is none too happy for his relative demotion to the earlier debate and has taken to blaming the GOP, even going so far as to insinuate that he'll be boycotting the event at this juncture. Speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday, Paul had this to say about the decision:

The bottom line is, I don't think anyone in the media should decide or have an artificial designation on who can or can't win. Three weeks out, if you want to tell voters, "Oh, you're not in the first chair." What do you think kind of message that sends to your voters? So we refuse to accept their designation. ... I think it's the Republican party [that's to blame].

Whether Paul changes his mind and makes it to North Charleston or takes to social media, as he did with his response to the State of the Union, one thing is clear: The sixth GOP debate is an important make or break event for the Republican party.