Former President Donald Trump won the second Republican debate on Wednesday night by simply staying away, according to a quick poll of viewers for DailyMail.com.
But there was good news for challenger Ron DeSantis, who was declared the most “presidential” and most “competent” candidate to take the stage at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library in California.
Analysts said DeSantis performed more confidently than during the first debate, when he sometimes disappeared from view. This time he addressed Trump directly, delving into his record as governor of Florida to describe how he would lead the nation.
But in a sign of Trump’s hold on the party base, a JL Partners poll found that 27 percent of viewers saw him as the night’s winner, putting tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ahead by one point and DeSantis by 10 points.
Rather than take the stage to duke it out with his rivals, the former president headed to Michigan as part of an effort to take advantage of the auto workers’ strike in a state that could decide the general election.
JL Partners surveyed 546 Republican viewers in the hour after the debate ended. The results have a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points
Former President Donald Trump was the winner of the evening, according to our DailyMail.com poll, even though he did not attend the debate. Ron DeSantis was named the most ‘competent’
Seven other candidates remained to battle it out among themselves. The night was marked by bickering and candidates often drowned out each other as they fought for airtime.
Of those who appeared on stage, about 35 percent of 546 Republican respondents declared Ramaswamy the winner and 24 percent said DeSantis had the best performance.
They were followed by former Vice President Mike Pence at 11 percent, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott at seven percent, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at six percent and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum at three percent. .
James Johnson, co-founder of JLP, said: “In the absence of anyone to deliver a knockout blow, Trump was the big winner of last night’s debate.
“This is a Trump-dominated electorate and a nominal victory for Vivek Ramaswamy in our debate poll is more a reflection of that than anything else.
“Ron DeSantis can claim something of a victory because he came across as the most presidential and competent, but he also didn’t come through the way he was supposed to. Christie and Burgum were the definitive losers, portrayed by Republicans as annoying and boring respectively.’
The poll was conducted online within an hour after the debate ended and has a margin of error of 4.2 percent.
In an effort to elicit viewers’ more nuanced thoughts, respondents were presented with a list of words and asked which pair best described each candidate.
The results highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each of the remaining runners.
The seven other candidates competed in the absence of the clear frontrunner
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was judged the most “convincing,” while former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, the only woman on stage, was deemed the most “charming.”
About 26 percent described DeSantis as “competent” and 19 percent said he was “presidential,” the highest scores.
Ramaswamy also scored well. About 24 percent said he was “strong,” 33 percent said he was “articulate,” 23 percent said he was “persuasive,” and he had ties to DeSantis for most “presidential elections.”
Haley came out on top as “charming” at 11 percent, while Christie was named the most annoying, with about 20 percent choosing that description for the former governor. He also chided Trump for not showing up.
And Johnson said not much had changed as a result of the debate.
“We’ll have to watch the primaries in the coming days and weeks, but everything looks unchanged,” he said.
“Trump voters preferred Vivek in the absence of their man. Pence addressed a group of moderates. Haley and Scott did well, but didn’t dominate the conversation. DeSantis did fine, but nothing more.
“It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that this was the dud debate: leaving Donald Trump as the continued clear frontrunner.”
Republican viewers called North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum “boring” and labeled former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie “annoying”
Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita agreed. He called for the final debate to be stopped.
“Tonight’s Republican debate was just as boring and inconsequential as the first debate, and nothing said will change the dynamics of the primaries dominated by President Trump,” he said.
Trump’s campaign has already made it clear that he will not attend the third debate after skipping the first two. He has a commanding lead over second-place DeSantis in the polls and sees no reason to risk being criticized by joining his rivals on the podium.
On Wednesday night, he gave a lengthy primetime speech in suburban Detroit, coinciding with the start of the debate.
“We’re competing with the applicants,” he said, ridiculing his rivals.
‘They are all applicants, they want to be… they do everything… secretary of something. They even say VP, does anyone see a VP in the group?’
Several candidates criticized Trump for staying away.
DeSantis signaled a more aggressive approach with his first answer of the evening. He was wary of attacking Trump for fear of alienating the party base, but went on the attack anyway on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump is missing a move,” he said. “He should be on this stage tonight.
“He owes it to you to defend his record of adding $7.8 trillion to the debt. That paved the way for the inflation we see today.”
And Christie, who has based his entire campaign on attacking Trump, said the former president “is hiding behind the walls of his golf clubs and will not show up here to answer questions like the rest of us are here to answer.” ‘