Republican hopefuls clash

The second debate in the crowded race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday contained threats to defund Planned Parenthood, several mentions of late President Ronald Reagan and a lot of Donald Trump.

Trump currently leads polls, though much can change before the first Republican primaries in February 2016.

'Undercard' candidates get first say

The three-hour contest broadcast by CNN took place in two rounds, beginning with second-tier candidates Governor Bobby Jindal, Senator Lindsey Graham, former Senator Rick Santorum and ex-New York Governor George Pataki.

Free of having to contend with the barbs of real estate mogul Trump, the four "undercard" candidates still managed to make him a point of conversation - with Jindal saying "he's not a Republican…He believes in Donald Trump," and Pataki vowing not to support the former "Apprentice" star should he win the nomination.

Trump vs. Fiorina

The main debate saw more heavyweight contenders like Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Trump duke it out over everything from Planned Parenthood to the Middle East to immigration.

Fiorina and Trump traded a few awkward comments when the former Hewlett-Packard executive brought up comments the mogul made recently about her appearance, to which Trump sheepishly responded that Fiorina was in fact, "a beautiful woman." They also traded jabs about their business records, and Fiorina laughed away Trump's suggestion that the United States revoke birthright citizenship, saying "you can't wave your hands," and change fundamental citizenship laws.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie put his foot down on the "childish back-and-forth" between Trump and Fiorina, and demanded the proceedings get back on track.

Bush stands behind Iraq invasion

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was also a point of contention among the candidates with some criticizing how staunchly Jeb Bush has stood behind his brother's decision to begin the war. Senator Rand Paul came out against American intervention in the Middle East - adding that there will "always be a Bush or a Clinton for you if you want to go back to war in Iraq."

Another point of controversy was the power of the Supreme Court and how to nominate justices. Many of the candidates, displeased with the recent decision of the court to legalize gay marriage across all 50 states, expressed concern over the make up of the court. Senator Ted Cruz said he was mistaken in his one-time support of Chief Justice John Roberts, who ended up being the swing vote in the marriage equality decision. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, said he would make opposition to abortion a necessary criterion for him to nominate a justice.

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es/sms (AP, Reuters)