Denver, October 29 (RHC)-- U.S. Republican presidential candidates faced off at their third debate Wednesday night in Boulder, Colorado. This was the first debate since retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson pulled ahead of business mogul Donald Trump in the polls.

Media sources, citing initial opinion polls, say that of the ten Republican hopefuls taking part in the debate, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were said to have done the best, while Jeb Bush did poorly.

The economy-focused third Republican debate was hosted by CNBC at the University of Colorado Boulder. The candidates who took part were former Florida governor Jeb Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Ted Cruz, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Marco Rubio and entrepreneur Donald Trump.

In other news from Capitol Hill, Wisconsin Republican Congressmember Paul Ryan has become the 62nd speaker of the House. Ryan replaces Ohio Congressmember John Boehner, who announced his departure last month following a lengthy dispute with far-right members of his own party.