Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy get top marks – and Christie loses out ton Burgum: Republican viewers tell DailyMail.com how they rated the candidates out of 10 on a night dominated by bickering and the absence of Trump

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earned high marks for their debate performances on Wednesday night, according to polling conducted exclusively for DailyMail.com.

A sample of 546 Republicans attending the Republican Party’s second primary debate in Simi Valley, California, were asked to rate the candidates’ performance from one to 10, with 10 being the most convincing.

With a 6.9, Ramaswamy achieved the highest rating, followed by DeSantis with a 6.5. Following them were South Carolinians – former UN Ambassador and Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley with a rating of 5.6 and Senator Tim Scott with a 5.5.

At the back of the pack was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, with a rating of 4.6, who was also voted ‘most annoying’.

Doing slightly better than Christie was North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who is still relatively new to the national political scene, with a 4.8, and former Vice President Mike Pence with a 5.2.

Ramaswamy received the highest percentage of Republicans who agreed he won the debate, while Christie received the highest percentage of respondents who thought he lost.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said the 38-year-old political novice was the winner, while 24 percent said so about DeSantis, who has been in a distant second place behind former President Donald Trump for months.

After that, 11 percent said Pence won the debate, 7 percent said Haley and Scott, 6 percent said Christie and just 3 percent said Burgum.

Burgum was seen by Republicans as the weakest — 25 percent say so — and the most boring — with 24 percent of respondents agreeing.

Ramaswamy and Christie tied for the title of most aggressive competitor of the evening – each earning 15 percent – ​​with respondents clearly liking Ramaswamy’s style better, as the largest group also ranked him among the strongest (24 percent) and the most eloquent (33 percent)) and most persuasive (23 percent).

Meanwhile, 20 percent – ​​the highest number – called Christie the most annoying.

Ramaswamy also bonded with DeSantis when Republicans were asked who was the most presidential candidate on stage. Ramaswamy and DeSantis each earned 19 percent.

DeSantis also received the superlative award for most competent, with 26 percent of respondents choosing him.

Republicans voted the only woman on stage, Haley, as the “most charming,” with 11 percent agreeing.

Overall, the highest percentage of Republicans, 27 percent, agreed that the real winner was Trump — who skipped the debate to instead campaign outside Detroit, Michigan.

Pollster James Johnson, co-founder of JLP, noted that Republicans surveyed remain a “Trump-dominated electorate” and that without the ex-president on stage, “Trump-leaning voters preferred Vivek in their man’s absence.”

“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 in the way he should have,” Johnson argued. “DeSantis did fine, but nothing more.”

Johnson said he believed the race “looks unchanged.”

“Haley and Scott did well, but didn’t dominate the conversation,” he said. “Christie and Burgum were the definitive losers, portrayed by Republicans as annoying and boring, respectively.”