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Finally, Donald Trump gets a taste of his own medicine

If you didn't watch last night's Republican presidential debate, you missed a doozy.

Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz came out swinging like boxers on a mission, challenging Trump on everything from his reluctance to release his tax returns to lawsuits and his traditionally left-leaning views on abortion. At times it felt like a 2-on-1 affair.

Unfortunately, Cruz and Rubio may have awoken from their slumber a tad too late.

It's jarring that it took these men ten debates to finally stick it to Trump. The fact of the matter is that, like many political pundits, the candidates (with the exception of Jeb Bush, who recently exited the race) underestimated Trump. They figured he would fizzle out eventually, so they never took his candidacy seriously -- that is, until he started racking up victories in the primaries and caucuses.

Now they're trying to do anything they can to slow his momentum, but polls have him with sizeable leads in many of the states up for grabs on Super Tuesday. He's leading Rubio in Florida, the young senator's own state, and is giving Texas senator Ted Cruz a run for his money in the Lone Star State.

Many people say this election is reminiscent of the election of 1980, when a former Hollywood actor and liberal-turned-conservative named Ronald Reagan took the world by storm and defeated Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter to become president. Even evangelicals turned out for Reagan despite Jimmy Carter being one of the most religious presidents to occupy the Oval Office. The same situation played out in the South Carolina primary, where the more religious Cruz was expected to be buoyed by such voters.

This is an election year unlike any I've seen before. The stakes are high. The drama is real. People seem to be clamoring for an outsider who could take the United States in a different direction.

Is this the year of Trump, at least as far as the Republican nomination goes? We'll have to wait and see, but it is certainly looking that way.

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