Eight candidates, one stage, near-zero chance of beating Trump

The biggest question about Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate: Will it matter?

Eight candidates will be on that stage, several of them having gone to ridiculous lengths to get there—North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum reached the unique contribution threshold by giving out $20 gift cards in exchange for donations—and the whole event could end up being overlooked. Of course, it’s still possible a candidate could have a breakout moment (and still possibly come up 20 percentage points under Donald Trump in the polls) or a campaign-ending moment.