First Read: What Has Changed Heading Into the Second GOP Debate

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann

First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

What has changed heading into the second GOP debate

This week's big political event is the second Republican debate on Wednesday. And it's worth recapping what has changed in the month since the first one:

• Donald Trump has solidified his lead in the polls, and the critical coverage he received in July/August has been replaced by a perception that he's bulletproof -- at least for now;
• Ben Carson has surged into second place, despite what originally seemed like a lackluster performance at the first debate and despite very little campaign activity;
• Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have dropped -- with Walker's fall even more striking than Hillary Clinton's decline over the past month;
• On the issues front, the Iran deal is essentially a done deal, while the odds of a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood have increased;
• Carly Fiorina has made it to the main debate stage, with CNN changing its debate criteria to allow for 11 to participate in the main debate, instead of the 10 we saw last month;
• And Rick Perry became the first casualty of the GOP race after he dropped out on Friday afternoon. That means that there will be one fewer Republican on the smaller debate stage Wednesday.

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Source: NBC News