The final Republican presidential debate before primary voters in 11 states cast their ballots on Super Tuesday dissolved into an unseemly brawl in which candidates competed with each other to be the loudest and sling the most insults at each other.

With an avalanche of putdowns, zingers and crass insults, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio tag-teamed on Donald Trump to question his conservative values and his character, with Trump returning the favor in the Republican debate held Thursday in Houston, Texas.