The Republican presidential hopefuls went head-to-head for a second time on the debate stage Wednesday in a showdown that aired on CNN. Josh Robin filed the following report.

Carly Fiorina stands out for obvious reasons. At the second Republican debate, the former business executive also drew notice for taking on Donald Trump.

"I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said," Fiorina said.

What the developer said was to belittle Fiorina's face. He was speaking to a reporter, as they saw her on TV.

Trump would later say he was talking about Fiorina's persona, not her looks.

"I think she's got a beautiful face, and I think she's a beautiful woman," Trump said.

Trump also tangled with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, notably over whether it was fair for Trump to suggest that Bush's position on immigration is influenced by his Mexican-born wife.

Trump: I hear your wife is a lovely woman.
Bush: She is. She's fantastic.
Trump: I don't know her, and this is a total mischaracterization of what I said -
Bush: She is absolutaly the love of my life, and she's right here, and why don't you apologize for her right now?
Trump: No, I won't do that because I said nothing wrong.

Earlier, the pair scrapped over Trump's failed bid to bring casinos to Florida, when Bush was governor.

It was a question on another Bush that turned heads.

"As it relates to my brother, there's one thing I know for sure: He kept us safe," Jeb Bush said.

Turning to other candidates - who sweated it out, literally, for three hours on what appeared to be an overheated stage.

Ben Carson has been surging in polls. The retired neurosurgeon did nothing to change his soft-spoken reputation. He criticizes any tax system other than a flat tax.

"The people who say, 'The guy who paid $1 billion because he had $10 [billion], he's still got $9 billion left. That's not fair. We need to take more of his money.' That's called socialism. That doesn't work so well," Carson said.

Earlier Wednesday, four candidates with limited support in polls sparred.

Among them was former New York Governor George Pataki. As he has done on the stump, he cited his experience in office during the September 11th attacks as a reason why he should become president. He also blasted Trump as unfit, to which Trump later retorted that Pataki couldn't be elected dog-catcher.