you always have divided the tweet location history . jeb bush , who entered tuesday night ’s gop debate with the most on the line , rose to the occasion and turned in his strongest debate performance to date , but it was marco rubio and ted cruz who again outshined their rivals . while bush 's ability to find his footing on the primetime stage should reassure nervous donors , it ’s unlikely to fundamentally change his position in the broader field — a b grade , after all , only brings an f up to a d. story continued below gop presidential candidates clashed over immigration , government spending and how to handle russia 's vladimir putin during tuesday night 's debate . and he succeeded on tuesday , as top supporters declared a solid , mistake - free night in milwaukee enough to wrap a “ tourniquet ” on the fourth republican presidential debate on tuesday night was a less dramatic , more substantive affair than the previous three clashes of the 2016 cycle . whether it will be enough to turn around his jeb bush , left , speaks as marco rubio listens during republican presidential debate at milwaukee theatre . it was a more understated affair than the last gop debate sponsored by cnbc but still managed milwaukee — it was , at last , a debate about policy . ( ashleigh joplin and rebecca schatz fox business network ) the eight top republican presidential candidates gathered for the fourth debate of the 2016 campaign tuesday night in milwaukee . if the emergence of donald trump and the efforts of previous debate moderators to pit candidates against each other have forestalled the policy arguments that typically characterize republican primary contests , fox business network ’s debate on tuesday brought them to the fore . who shone and who wilted under the lights in milwaukee ?