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Republican hopefuls hold debate Republican hopefuls hold debate
(about 3 hours later)
Ten Republican contenders for the 2008 US presidential election have held their first debate. The first debate involving Republican contenders for next year's US presidential nomination has taken place in California.
Among those to brave the TV cameras at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, were Rudi Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney. The war in Iraq and abortion rights were among the topics raised. The debate involved the three front-runners and several lesser known contenders.
Lesser-known candidates are hoping to raise their profile ahead of the primary elections early next year. Sen John McCain was once a clear favourite but has trailed ex-New York mayor Rudi Giuliani for several months.
The event came a week after eight Democratic presidential hopefuls held their first debate in South Carolina. The Democrats held the opening debate of their campaign a week ago.
Predictably perhaps the war in Iraq dominated the early exchanges in the debate, with Arizona Senator McCain vowing to put greater pressure on Iran and to pursue Osama Bin Laden to, as he put it, the gates of hell. War 'mismanaged'
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES Sam BrownbackJim GilmoreRudy GiulianiMike HuckabeeDuncan HunterJohn McCainMitt RomneyRon PaulTom TancredoTommy Thompson class="" href="/1/hi/puffbox/promo/regular/6621957.inc">Republicans face Iowa scrutiny Senator McCain, who has been an outspoken supporter of President George W Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, was once seen as the clear favourite in the Republican race but he is currently trailing Rudi Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, who has been ahead in the polls for several months. The debate took place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
Mitt Romney, formerly the governor of Massachusetts, is vying to become the first Mormon to be elected president. REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES Sam BrownbackJim GilmoreRudy GiulianiMike HuckabeeDuncan HunterJohn McCainMitt RomneyRon PaulTom TancredoTommy Thompson class="" href="/1/hi/puffbox/promo/regular/6621957.inc">Republicans face Iowa scrutiny
He has done well with fundraising but trails the other two in the polls. The key issue for the Republican contenders was Iraq.
With 18 months to go to the election, it is unlikely this debate will prove decisive but it will serve to introduce many of the lesser known candidates to the wider public. The war there is unpopular with the bulk of the US yet the majority of Republican primary voters support it.
In a debate broadcast on the US cable news channel MSNBC, Sen McCain of Arizona, who backed George W Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, came probably the closest of all the candidates to criticising the president.
He said the war had been "terribly mismanaged" and that "we now have to fix a lot of the mistakes that were made".
But he added: "Now I think it's on the right track... we have a new strategy and a new general and these young men and women are committed to winning."
Mr Giuliani was equally robust in his support of the military mission in Iraq.
And the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, who is vying to become the first Mormon to be elected president, warned of chaos in the region if US troops left there too soon.
Another thorny issue is abortion.
The majority of Republicans oppose its legalisation.
The only candidate to differ on that was Mr Giuliani, who has taken some heat for his support of both abortion and gay rights.
Whoever wins the Republican nomination may face an uphill task getting themselves elected.
The rival Democrats are currently comfortably ahead in the polls.