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Republican Dark Horses Have a Lot on the Line in Las Vegas Debate

December 15, 2015 - 7:30am
Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee and Lindsey Graham
Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee and Lindsey Graham

Out of the limelight, four of the dark horses seeking the Republican presidential nomination will be on stage on Tuesday afternoon in the undercard debate. 

While none of the underdog candidates will command the attention their colleagues will in the main event, they will have their chances to leave an impression. Certainly Carly Fiorina did that in the first undercard debate and Chris Christie made the most of his demotion and is now back on the big stage. One of the familiar faces from the previous lower tier debates is gone now as Bobby Jindal bowed out of the race last month. 

As voters get ready to tune out politics and focus on the holidays, Tuesday night’s debate could be the last chance for some of these candidates to make an impact on the race. Here’s a look at what the four dark horse candidates have on the line on Tuesday night:

Lindsey Graham. The senator from South Carolina will try to make the debate about security and terrorism. Certainly  Graham will repeat his call for tougher actions against ISIS after the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. But Graham is doing badly in the polls and he’s upside down with Republican voters in key states, including Iowa. Even if he’s not a contender, Graham is more concerned with shaping the GOP on foreign policy than he is in wanting to be the Republican nominee and he will his best chance to do that on Tuesday night. 

Mike Huckabee. Nobody has more to lose in the undercard debate than the former Arkansas governor. While he made a  good impression in the 2008 debates, Huckabee seemed lost on the big stage and Christie outpaced him in his previous undercard debate. Polls show Republican voters generally like Huckabee but he’s not the top choice of most of the GOP faithful. Huckabee’s focus on social issues probably won’t help him if the debate centers around terrorism but he is affable and usually leaves a good impression. Still, that will only get him so far and polls are showing Huckabee in low single digits in Iowa, a state he carried eight years ago. Huckabee needs a commanding performance on Tuesday night to get back in the mix and even then he has a ways to go to become a contender. 

George Pataki. The former New York governor is not doing well in the race, leaving little of an impression in his past debate performances and not making it on the ballots in states across the nation, including Florida. But this could be Pataki’s moment. While his old rival Rudy Giuliani got most of the attention for leading New York on 9/11, Pataki was governor during the attack. If terrorism and security are the focus of Tuesday night’s debate, Pataki should be able to hold his hold even without much in the way of foreign policy experience. Having said that, Pataki needs a very strong showing on Tuesday night and lot of things to break his way to even be considered a third tier candidate.

Rick Santorum. Like Huckabee, here’s another past Iowa winner who is struggling in the Hawkeye State now. While he’s probably better known for his social and religious conservatism, Santorum is no stranger to foreign policy and has called for a strong response to terrorism. Santorum was a late bloomer in the 2012 race but he was able to edge Mitt Romney in Iowa through solid debate performances and working hard. He’ll have to run the table for a similar result this time out and the clock is starting to tick. One major concern for Santorum: Republican voters know him but he doesn’t have the high favorability numbers of the top candidates or even Huckabee. Santorum has to keep that in mind as he tries to find new ways to get voters behind him on Tuesday night.  


Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN

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