The second Republican primary debate on Wednesday had many detractors online, but one poll says there was a clear winner and two other candidates who did well.
The 538/Ipsos/Washington Post poll found that among those Republican primary voters who watched the debate, a plurality of 33% said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won the debate.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley came in second place, with the support of 18% of GOP primary debate watchers, while Vivek Ramaswamy garnered the support of 15% of debate watchers. None of the other candidates received more than 6% in the question about who won the debate.
A majority of debate watchers, 54%, said DeSantis had a performance rating of good or excellent for the debate.
While Ramaswamy did comparatively well, he did far better, according to a poll, in the first debate, when 26% said he won the debate.
When Republican primary voters who watched the debate were asked if the debate changed the candidate they were supporting, very few said it made much of a difference. None of the candidates had a change in support of over 3%.
Former President Donald Trump was notably absent from the debate, and he was criticized most especially by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for refusing to appear and defend his record. Christie had perhaps the most colorful epithet of the night when he nicknamed the former president “Donald Duck” for avoiding the debate.
Trump is far and away the leading candidate with the most support in the Republican primary.
The third debate in the Republican primary campaign is scheduled for November in Miami, Florida. Trump is likely to skip that debate as well.
Here’s more about the second GOP debate:
GOP & Fox News Are DEAD: Glenn Beck Reacts to ‘WORST’ Presidential Debate | Glenn TV | Ep 307www.youtube.com
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