Jim Hartman: Second GOP debate winners: Haley, DeSantis and Trump

Seven GOP presidential hopefuls took the stage Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, for a debate sponsored by Fox Business.

Just 9.3 million viewers watched, a steep drop from the 12.8 million who tuned into the first debate Aug. 23.

The participants put on an informative show giving voters insights into their views but the debate was often chaotic with candidate crosstalk.

There were strong debate moments, particularly from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis . It was a scramble to stand out.

As a result , Donald Trump – who skipped the debate – was the biggest winner. The GOP candidates largely left him off the hook.

In national and state polls, Trump has a huge lead over his GOP competitors despite four criminal indictments charging 91 felonies.

He leads by 43 points in the national polling average.

Haley was sharp in the first debate and was similarly strong in the second debate. She distinguished herself with a fluent presentation on foreign policy and domestic issues and emerged as the biggest winner who was actually on the stage in the opinion of many commentators.

Haley sought to present herself as the adult in the room – but not one to back down.

The former U.N. ambassador had a solid night. Notable proof of Haley’s rise – only Haley received a post-debate attack from Trump.

DeSantis came into the debate having drawn the most negative coverage than any of those on the stage. He was impressively tenacious during the second debate and exhibited confidence in explaining his leadership as Florida’s chief executive.

With Trump absent, Republican voters who watched the debate judged DeSantis the winner, according to a WP/Ipso survey.

While far behind Trump nationally , DeSantis is currently in second place and Haley in third, leading the rest of the field.

DeSantis and Haley are viable longshots to overtake Trump’s commanding lead. For various reasons, the five other GOP candidates on the Sept. 27 debate stage have no realistic prospect of being the GOP presidential nominee in 2024.

Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott and Mike Pence should do Republican voters a favor by withdrawing from the race before the third presidential debate on Nov. 8 in Miami.

Republican voters deserve a focused debate with a winnowed field consisting of Trump and the two leading alternatives – DeSantis and Haley.

Republicans should insist Trump debate to explain his comments on abortion, answer for his COVID-19 policies, his actions on Jan. 6, his foreign policy, his age (77) and competence.

Who would agree to serve in a second Trump administration after all the good people he fired and then belittled in the first one?

And electability. If the GOP fields a candidate from Biden’s generation, wouldn’t it be giving up an advantage both DeSantis (age 45) and Haley (51) have?

What effect would an actual felony criminal conviction have on Trump’s electability?

In both CNN and NBC polls in September, there was no clear leader in match-ups between Biden vs. Trump or Biden vs. DeSantis. However, Biden runs behind Haley by 6 points in the CNN poll (49-43%) and loses to Haley by 5 points in the NBC poll (46-41%).

Republicans need to remind themselves of Trump’s unhinged posts on his Truth Social.

Trump suggested recently that Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s highest military officer, deserved execution – as in death. He said NBC should be investigated for treason and the FBI should raid the homes of Senate Democrats.

If Trump is nominated again, his every word will get attention. That’s the baggage Republicans will carry – and the reason Democrats think even Biden can win.

Republicans need to concentrate on their two realistic alternatives: DeSantis and Haley.

E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.