Donald Trump Still Leading The Pack.
BALDWIN: I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN. We're back here live in the middle of this Ronald Reagan library here in Simi Valley, California. I'm flanked by this stunning mountain range. Off camera, to me, it's a beautiful place to call home for all of us for the next couple days. Listen. We're 48 hours away from the big show, the CNN Republican debate that could really change momentum, change this 2016 race for the nomination. Let me show you the candidates and remember 11 of them on that stage at 8:00 eastern come Wednesday night desperate, obviously, to steal the limelight from the man who is in the center, Donald Trump. A new ABC News/"Washington Post" poll puts Trump on top of the Republican field and he's now at 33 percentage points. The only other in double digits is Ben Carson. Even seeing a 12-point jump in the key early primary state of New Hampshire. That's in Ne Monmouth University poll. That was also out today. So let me bring Cheri Jaocbus, Republican strategist and here with me in Simi Valley, I have Kevin Madden, CNN political commentator and former national press secretary for Mitt Romney for president. So he has been through this rodeo a couple times. So, welcome to both of you. Thank you so much for being with me. And off the top here, Sherry to you first and then Kevin, I want you to name two candidates who will be let's say of the 11 Wednesday night that this will be make or break. Cheri?</s>CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think Ben Carson, for one. He's doing well in the polls as we know coming in second very strong. What's also interesting is that when you're asked for a second choice, Ben Carson leads the others by quite a lot. So I think that you're going to see Ted Cruz coming after Carson because he wants that number two spot to Donald Trump. I don't think they are going after Donald Trump. They have an alliance. Another one, Carly Fiorina. She has got some good bragging rights now going in. She just won the straw poll for the national federation of Republican women. We had Ted Cruz come in second. Ben Carson Third. Donald Trump, fourth. So this is her chance. As you know, you know, she's been trying to get to the grownups table as they say on the stage. She is there. So she has an opportunity. I'm going to name one more, John Kasich. He has been the sleeper in this. He's doing a lot of grass roots work. He's gaining some key endorsements, but he's largely been laying low. He doesn't really want to have to make his candidacy be about Donald Trump. So I think that he has a shot to really shoot forward. So those would be the three-four, really, that I would be watching.</s>BALDWIN: OK. Kevin, you have two?</s>KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I'm going to agree with Cheri on Carly Fiorina. I think this is an extraordinary opportunity. She used the first debate to break through into the top tier and really get a look from a lot of voters. I think those voters are going to be tuning again in to see if there's more of they like the first time around. And this is an opportunity for her. I mean, and one thing she's struggled with has been name I.D. So this chance to get before tens of millions of new Republican voters and really build on that momentum is big. I would say in the break column, I would say this is a big night for Scott Walker. Scott Walker has really seen his numbers plummet since the Donald Trump industrial news complex has taken over. And here's an opportunity for him to really breakthrough that clutter and show the people that were registering support for him again previously that he's back in the fold. So I think that will be interesting to see for him.</s>BALDWIN: We are 48 hours out. I was asking you if you're missing any of this or not you know. That didn't go around and he laughs. He laughs. But Kevin, but 48 hours out, what is happening right now with these candidates in their campaigns? How into the needy-gritty are they that they have been, you know, readying for this for quite a while?</s>MADDEN: Well, I think this last 48 hours, they are doing a lot of polishing up on some of the policies. Some of the points that they want to make. Some of their strategies on how are they going to breakthrough on that stage. I think the other part if it is when they start to do this walk through and they see that sight in how close they are going to be together, they are going to start thinking through the strategies of just the physical element of this debate. And starting to think of ways that they can break out in that sense.</s>BALDWIN: They are basically, and I was asking you about this off camera before, but they are basically from me to you. And so, we were talking about cringe worthy moments. And listen. All these candidates have cringe worthy moments where all there, you know, folks working with them off stage. But when you saw your guy, when you saw Mitt Romney grab Rick Perry like this, awkward.</s>MADDEN: Awkward. Yes. The one thing you have to remember about these is more and more is that they become performances. And the optics really start to matter. And the optics can work in your favor. But when you do something like Mitt Romney and reach out, those optics can really start to be a difficult moment for the candidates. These debates are largely defined by moments of strengths and moments of weakness. Now, somebody like Donald Trump who for the last 35 years has been a celebrity and is much more comfortable in these environments, it could work to his favor. And similarly, Jeb Bush who is, you know, more of a policy wonks, somebody who is focused more on substance, that physicality may work against them. So they are going to have to be waste overcome soon.</s>BALDWIN: How they use the audience because the front row is feet away. All of that will be at play. Cheri, to you, totally off the lay of the land here. You know, one of the big stories we have been following at CNN is the story out of</s>JACOBUS: Well, I'm assuming you have some inside information that that will be one of the questions.</s>BALDWIN: I have no inside information. I have not been inside the cone of silence, let me just say that. But I'm thinking about it.</s>JACOBUS: Yes. One thing that all of the candidates will struggle with and what they want to do well with is no matter what they are asked, of course, they want to address the question. And I know the format is such that they are going to be addressing each other. Jake Tapper has said that much. But what they want to do is talk about their priorities. They want to define themselves. So if that is an issue with which they want to be defined by, then they should go ahead and talk about it. If there's something else that they can address that is related to that that they care more about, I think they should address that.</s>MADDEN: Look. You know, I think there's an undercard here between Cruz and Huckabee and even Carson for the evangelical vote. Even if it's not asked as a question, I will bet they are going to try and leave it in because that's what they want. They won't allow these voters in places like South Carolina and Iowa which are early on in the contests on the calendar, they want the voters to know that they are the candidate that's going to stand up for their values in this race.</s>JACOBUS: I would agree on that issue.</s>BALDWIN: Cheri, to be continued. I promise, to be continued. Cheri Jacobus and Kevin Madden, thank you so much for being with me. And again, let me remind you, folks, must-see TV Wednesday night. The CNN presidential debate for the Republicans Wednesday at 6:00 eastern is when it begins here on CNN. Coming up next, no surprise, we're all thrilled the energy, the anxiety is palpable here in Simi Valley. We'll take a look back, though, at the memorable and historic moments these huge events, these debates have produced in the past. We're going into the vault.