Republican debate: Trump v Bush and Cruz v Rubio as tempers flare – as it happened

First question, about Scalia - of course - goes to Trump. “If you were president, with 11 months to go...”

“If I were president, I would try and nominate a justice, and I’m absolutely sure that president Obama will be able to do it,” Trump says. He adds that he hopes the senate will be able to stop him. “It’s called delay, delay, delay.”

Here are the rules: candidates get one minute for answers; 30 seconds more for followup. If attacked by another candidate, you get 30 seconds to respond.

The candidates walk on to the stage. Donald Trump causes something of a small traffic jam by walking out slowly. Ben Carson, energetically, reacts to his introduction with a near-imperceptible smile. Cruz and Rubio wave, as do Jeb Bush and John Kasich.

Immediately, John Dickerson begins a tribute to justice Scalia with a moment of silence.

...now

Five minutes until the debate starts.

Google has this nifty widget through which you can follow the searches for each candidate in real-time as the debate unfolds:

Crucial: Obama says he plans to fulfil his constitutional obligation to nominate a successor to justice Scalia.

“But at this moment, we most of all want to think about his family,” he says. He does not hint at who his nominee might be - though many have speculated that the frontrunner in the president’s mind might be judge Sri Srinivasan, whom the New Yorker has called the “Supreme Court Nominee-In-Waiting.”

“Justice ... Scalia was a larger-than-life presence on the bench,” the president says. “He ... profoundly shaped the legal landscape.”

Justice Scalia dedicated his life to the cornerstone of our democracy: the rule of law.

In a statement which sorely risks overrunning the beginning of the GOP debate, Obama recounts Scalia’s life story, including his love for opera and his friendship with fellow justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

As we wait for President Obama to speak on Scalia’s death, a few responses from the Democratic side:

Bernie Sanders, in a statement, said:

While I differed with Justice Scalia’s views and jurisprudence, he was a brilliant, colorful and outspoken member of the Supreme Court.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his colleagues on the court who mourn his passing,”

The news today has of course been dominated by the death of often-divisive Reagan-nominated Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia in Texas earlier, and it is more than likely that tonight’s debate will be too.

Several of the candidates have already released statements about Scalia’s death. Ted Cruz was first out of the gate:

Which the Texas senator followed up with a statement on Facebook:

As liberals and conservatives alike would agree, through his powerful and persuasive opinions, Justice Scalia fundamentally changed how courts interpret the Constitution and statutes, returning the focus to the original meaning of the text after decades of judicial activism. And he authored some of the most important decisions ever, including District of Columbia v. Heller, which recognized our fundamental right under the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms. He was an unrelenting defender of religious liberty, free speech, federalism, the constitutional separation of powers, and private property rights. All liberty-loving Americans should be in mourning.

Donald Trump also addressed the justice’s death:

The mogul followed this tweet with a more sober statement on his website:

I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the Scalia family after the passing of Justice Scalia. Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice, one of the best of all time. His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans’ most cherished freedoms. He was a Justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I held in the highest regard and will always greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the Constitution of our country.

Marco Rubio also released a statement on Facebook, calling Scalia “one of the most consequential Americans in our history and a brilliant legal mind who served with only one objective: to interpret and defend the Constitution as written.”

And Ben Carson posted a statement to his website:

In an age where it is popular to subscribe to a “living Constitution” and during a time when political and judicial leaders prefer legal decisions that are politically convenient, Justice Scalia always dutifully carried out his responsibilities to interpret the law, not to make new ones. Time and again, he ruled based on where the black letter of the law led him, not according to the politics of the moment.

Note that several of the candidates are using language that makes it clear they believe it is the job of the next president - ie, them - to nominate Scalia’s replacement. But the horse-trading is likely to be more complicated than that; Obama has indicated that he plans to nominate a replacement.

The question then becomes a tactical one for Senate leadership; do they hold up Obama’s appointment, betting on a Republican win in November? Or do they choose the devil they know over the possibility of a new Democratic president?

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the last republican presidential primary debate before the crucial South Carolina primary.

It is already a momentous day in American politics – and in American history. Antonin Scalia, the supreme court justice, has died. He was 79. In Washington, the battle over the nomination for his replacement has already begun.

On the ground in Greenville, South Carolina – where that battle, or elements of it, will be fought between the Republican candidates on stage – is the Guardian’s crack political reporter Ben Jacobs. He has support from Washington correspondent David Smith as we bring you the best in live coverage.

Things to watch out for, other than tributes to Scalia and fiery rhetoric about why Barack Obama should not get to replace him with a liberal: the twin rivalries of Cruz v Trump and Bush v Rubio.

The former pair are scrapping for first place in this deeply conservative state.

Donald Trump is well ahead in the polls, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, with 35.7%; but Ted Cruz will be hoping to pull off another surprise win like he achieved in Iowa, most likely by appealing to South Carolina’s evangelical Christian right.

Jeb! Bush and Marco Rubio are fighting not to win, but each desperately needs not to lose – Real Clear Politics places the two of them neck-and-neck in the state, with 13%. A fourth – or even fifth-place finish for either of the two would deeply shake their hopes of going into both of their home state of Florida with any kind of momentum – and, worse, would be a deep humiliation.

Chris Christie’s attack on Rubio in the last debate weakened him politically; he will be aiming to shake the ‘Robo-Rubio’ moniker. At least the New Jersey governor is out of the race now. Bush even more desperately needs a big win in tonight’s debate to move the needle for his floundering campaign.

John Kasich, in his zen manner, has less to lose tonight – but much more to gain after his surprise second-place finish in New Hampshire.

It’s likely to be a night of fireworks. Stay tuned.