The race for the White House is ramping up with the U.S. presidential election now less than a year away. Republican presidential candidates faced off during a lively debate on Wednesday. But, the front runner Donald Trump did not take part.  

Meanwhile, President Biden continues to struggle in the polls.  

For more on U.S. politics, our guests:

• Adolfo Franco is an attorney and Republican strategist. 
• Eleanor Clift is a political columnist with the Daily Beast.  
• Bill Crane is a Political Analyst and Columnist. 
• Joseph Williams is a former Senior Editor for U.S. News and World Report. 

For the third time, Donald Trump's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination took to the debate stage on Wednesday night in his absence, seeking a way to dislodge the former president from his commanding lead in opinion polls https://t.co/wgTsjUmVjl

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 9, 2023

GOP presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy trade barbs, and other top moments from the third Republican presidential debate https://t.co/Su0mH1dzU0 pic.twitter.com/WXxqW3R8cJ

— CNN (@CNN) November 9, 2023