Anthony Holguin, the Flyer’s political junkie, is keeping an eye on the Republican side of the race for president. Holguin watched the recent debate and has been tracking its effect, or lack thereof, on the candidates. 

1. Christie and Hutchinson may have killed their campaigns by not supporting Donald Trump

• The two governors were alone during the hand raise question: “If former President Trump is convicted in a court of law would you still support him as your party’s choice?” Neither Christie nor Hutchinson raised their hands. First, Asa Hutchinson is only trying to get his name out and be recognized by people in the country. He knows his campaign is floundering and was trying to get more tv time. But in the current Republican Party you need to support Trump or remain silent on the topic to attract enough of the voting base. Chris Christie is doing nothing different from what he has been doing in his political career since 2016. He needs to find a new base to run off that does not entirely revolve around insulting Donald Trump. Post-Debate you see Asa Hutchinson straying from the regular campaign trail. Changing travel plans as an effort to gain required points in the polls. Including stops in Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. He needs to make up a 3-point deficit to participate in the California GOP debate. Chris Christie on the other hand has been relatively quiet in his campaign, already having met the requirements to qualify for the debate. Both of the candidates have to make complete course changes and overhauls to save their campaigns and improve their primary chances.

2. Vivek Ramaswamy dominates the stage despite having no political experience

• Vivek Ramaswamy was present during the entire debate and constantly stole screen time from the other candidates. Each time a new topic that was brought up Ramaswamy was mentioned or called out in one of the other candidates’ speeches. Each time he was called out for his lack of political experience. Yes, I do agree that the lack of political experience is something that most people look for; however, other candidates need to realize that there may be a shift of perception, just look at the current economy and the “political experience” of the current administration. Up until now the country has been voting for people based on political careers and we have been falling behind. Energy prices and taxes are all up right now and people are struggling, America needs a president with charisma and a level of even mild relatability and sharpness, people are seeing Ramaswamy as an opportunity for that. After the debate he took no breaks with a major New Hampshire and Iowa campaign blitz followed with $450,000 in donations. Despite the apparent momentum and new recognition, he has fallen to 8% in the national polls.

3. DeSantis dodges key questions and appears nervous

• DeSantis during the hand raise portion of the debate was consistently seen looking at other candidates and only after seeing their opinions, would he show his stance. Notably when asked about supporting Trump, if convicted and nominated, he was one of the last candidates to raise their hand. For DeSantis to slow his fall in the polls he needs to start showing more confidence and needs to be set in his opinions, even if he is alone on the stage. We saw peeks of this during the Ukraine segment, he needs to show this more often to electrify and rejuvenate his campaign again. After the debate he did receive a small bump to 15% in polls as he faces state crisis’s pulling him away from the campaign. These include an allegedly racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville alongside Hurricane Idalia where he has been the center of attention.

4. Trump wins the debate without even showing up

• Trump refused to participate in the Republican debate due to his ~40 point lead in the polls. Instead, he chose to have a one-on-one interview on X, formally known as Twitter, with Tucker Carlson. Trump managed to get 45 minutes of time dedicated entirely to him and his campaign. Even after this, Donald Trump alongside his controversial presidential term, was constantly mentioned in the debate. He managed to get free campaign advertising from the very people that are trying to tear down his popularity. This sealed his nomination in 2016 and we can already see now that he is too influential of a candidate to stop climbing in the polls and getting new voters. Candidates need to change their tactics to decrease his points in the polls.