Ten of the Republican presidential candidates clashed in Fox Business TV debates Thursday night in South Carolina, which holds its primary after Iowa and New Hampshire.
The stage is getting smaller. Lindsey Graham and George Pataki ended their campaigns last month and Rand Paul refused to take part in the undercard debate. Carly Fiorina was demoted back to the junior varsity squad but she held her own, even as she looks to be a non-factor in the early states. The clock is starting to tick, with Iowa looming in just over two weeks.
Expectations were raised for attacks between the top hopefuls, with mud flying between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush. Ben Carson hoped to recharge his campaign while Chris Christie and John Kasich jockeyed for position in New Hampshire. There were some fights to be sure -- including some major spats between Trump and Cruz, Trump and Bush, Cruz and Rubio and between Rubio and Christie -- and they were the big story of the night.
Here’s a look at some of the winners and losers Thursday night:
Winners:
Chris Christie. The New Jersey governor has done well in the debates and Thursday night was no exception. Drawing fire from Marco Rubio, Christie responded well and used the senator’s words against him. But when asked about his record in gun control, Christie was put on the defensive. He turned the issue back to Obama’s record and scored points by going after the White House. The New Jersey governor made a misstep by not jumping in after Trump fired back on Ted Cruz on “New York values," because his account of his family’s experience is very powerful. Christie rectified that when asked about allowing Muslims to immigrate, and he turned his fire to Obama. Christie was also good on taxes and took charge after Cruz and Rubio squabbled over them. Toward the end of the debate, Chrisite also reinforced his law-and-order credentials and landed a few more punches against Obama. While he was certainly overshadowed by Trump and Cruz, the New Jersey governor had a solid night.
Ted Cruz. The senator from Texas has done well in most of the debates and Thursday kept that trend going. Entering with a big target on his forehead, Cruz started strong, ignoring a question about the economy to rip into Barack Obama for ignoring American sailors captured by Iran, even as he gave the State of the Union. Facing questions about his Goldman Sachs loan, Cruz tried to turn it on the media, insisting it was a “hit piece” from the New York Times and not mentioning his wife working for that firm. Cruz was then asked about his eligibility to be president due to his Canadian birth and he turned that against the media, mocking Fox News for raising “important questions.” But Cruz handled the questions with humor and threw it back against Trump, blocking out the other candidates on the stage. Cruz also did well on the Second Amendment. But asked about his comment about Trump and “New York values,” Cruz set things up perfectly for Trump to respond with his account of 9/11, saying the Texan had made a “very insulting statement.” Cruz could only clap as Trump demolished him in that round. When Rubio went after his tax policy, Cruz was able to offer a strong response. Cruz wasn't as good when Rubio unloaded on him over his record at the end of the debate. Even though he lost the “New York values” round, Cruz, along with Trump, dominated the debate, making it look like a two-man race for most of the debate. Not a bad thing with Iowa barely two weeks out.
Carly Fiorina. Back on the undercard, Fiorina had a good debate, winning notice for her attacks on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But Fiorina has already proven she is a strong debater and she hasn’t offered much besides those appearances. Fiorina benefited from the increased exposure, but there’s something else at play. While she continues to insist she isn’t part of the political class, Fiorina was doing the GOP establishment’s work for them on Thursday night when she went after Trump. More than a few pundits and observers think Fiorina is hoping for a major post in the new Republican administration and there’s even been whispers that she could end up on the GOP ticket in the vice presidential spot. Fiorina might have helped herself on that front with her jabs against Clinton and Trump, even if she did little to help her chances of getting out of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Rick Santorum. This hasn’t been a good campaign for Santorum and he simply is not the factor that he was four years ago. But, on the undercard debate on Thursday, Santorum had one of his best nights of this election cycle. Santorum reached out to South Carolina voters with his focus on manufacturing and his showcasing of Citadel students. The former senator from Pennsylvania is fighting Mike Huckabee for many of the same voters, especially in Iowa, a state both of them won. Outshining him on economic and social issues, Santorum did better than Huckabee on Thursday night and showed far more fire and less anger than he has in past debates. He still has a long way to go to be a contender but this was easily Santorum’s best debate performance so far this election, even if the media couldn’t resist jabbing his request for voters to Google him, a reminder of Dan Savage’s naming a sexual term after him years ago.
Donald Trump. The leader in the national polls started strong on international issues, slamming Obama’s handling of terrorism and tying it to immigration. Trump got the worst of it against Cruz in clashing over the senator’s eligibility, but he bounced back well when asked about Nikki Haley’s jab at angry voices on immigration. Trump clashed with Cruz again and had one of the finest moments of his campaign, offering a powerful account of how New York responded to 9/11 and saying the Texan had crossed the line with his jabs at “New York values.” In the second half of the debate, Trump battled Bush over bringing Muslims into the country and this gave the celebrity businessman a chance to make his case on immigration and for more national security. Trump also scored points with his praise of police officers across America and on getting tough with China on trade. Along with Cruz, Trump was center stage during this debate, just where he wants to be in the final days before Iowa and New Hampshire.
Losers:
Jeb Bush. Though he was positioned on the end, far from the ruckus at center stage -- not his fault -- the former Florida governor nevertheless needed to do more. Bush opened the debate by jabbing Barack Obama’s leadership and hitting Hillary Clinton. But he didn’t score when he tried to jump into the spat between Chris Christie and Rubio and he was barely a factor for much of the first half of the debate. Still, he was wise to take more shots at the Democrats than his fellow Republicans. Bush also scored points when he talked about Second Amendment rights. But he did not get many questions his way, forcing him to go after Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Bush was pressed about calling Trump “unhinged” and held his own, but also set things up for Trump to shine. Bush has been moving further and further away from the center of the debate stage and his nuanced take on terrorism and most of the other candidates -- save Trump -- refraining from attacking him just reinforce his increasingly shrinking chances for the presidency. This wasn’t a bad night for Bush and he has clearly beat out John Kasich as the grownup on the stage. But he needs to do more and he is running out of time.
Ben Carson. Dropping in the polls, Carson needed a strong debate. He continues to be pleasant and a peacemaker on the stage but he remains increasingly a second or third choice for many Republicans. To be sure, GOP voters like Carson, but they prefer other candidates. Carson was a non-factor at the start of the debate and did little to change his downward trend. Some of the questions -- including being asked about Trump’s comments about Bill Clinton -- did not help Carson. Nor did some of his answers like calling for an international panel to help defeat ISIS. While he certainly did not turn off Republicans on Thursday night, Carson did not help revive his bid with his performance.
Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor was one of the stars of the 2008 race, but he is nowhere near that level this time out. Huckabee was a non-factor Thursday night and his attempts at folksy humor fell flat as he compared Afghanistan to the setting of the “Flintstones.” As the clock ticks down to Iowa and New Hampshire, Huckabee needs to turn things around quick, especially as he has said he will end his campaign if he doesn’t place in the top three in Iowa, a state he carried in 2008. Huckabee scored points when he pushed the Fair Tax and in his strong appeal to religious conservatives in his closing but, for too much of the debate, he offered little. Nothing happened on Thursday night to breathe life into Huckabee’s campaign.
John Kasich. The Ohio governor simply hasn’t done well in these debates. Too often, he speaks like a politician, even giving a shout out to Pete Domenici at the start of the debate. Even worse, Kasich was almost invisible for far too long in the first half of the debate. He had some fine moments -- including his jabs at the Saudis -- but he often spoke more like the longtime member of Congress he had been, talking about what committees he served on, than a governor. Kasich is putting it all on New Hampshire and he can still be a factor in the race but he will need to make the most of his remaining opportunities.
Rand Paul. The senator from Kentucky was so incensed by being excluded from the main event that he decided to skip the undercard debate. Paul’s certainly in no position in either Iowa or New Hampshire to forego the debate stage. It was a bad decision and stood in sharp contrast with other candidates who were sent down to the junior varsity squad like Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, all of whom handled it with good grace. Paul’s has been one of the more underwhelming campaigns on the Republican side and skipping out on the debates and complaining about it wasn’t the way to revive it. Having supporters interupt moderators with a "we want Rand" chant at the end of the debate didn't help his cause.
Marco Rubio. The senator from Florida needs to be worried about being eclipsed by Trump and Cruz. Rubio started on fire, hitting Obama’s international policies and swinging away at Hillary Clinton at Benghazi. He was sharp enough to jump in after the Trump-Cruz spat and turn his fire on Obama. But Rubio was a bit over the top with his attacks against Christie and the New Jersey governor turned around by jabbing his experience in the Senate. Rubio bounced back when he weighed in to defend the Second Amendment and put his fire back on Obama. While he didn’t hurt himself, Rubio vanished during much of the third quarter of the debate and was totally overshadowed by the Trump-Cruz battle. Losing a round to Christie over taxes at the end of the debate did not help Rubio as they battle for position in New Hampshire. It seemed Rubio was more in the second tier than at the head of the pack on Thursday night, though getting into a fight with Cruz at the end over taxes and the Texan's record helped rectify that. Still, for most of the debate, Rubio was lost in the shadow of Trump and Cruz. That’s not a good thing as Iowa and New Hampshire draw near.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
