Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy had a breakthrough night during Wednesday’s debate when he swung for the fences as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ calm demeanor did enough to keep up with him.
As the dust settled on a stormy first Republican debate, viewers were asked to rate each contestant out of 10 in an exclusive DailyMail.com poll.
And the results suggest that while Ramaswamy made headlines with his belligerent performance, DeSantis matched him, while Senator Tim Scott’s calm demeanor may have also impressed the watching Republican voters.
They placed him in third place, with an average score of six points. That’s despite the fact that he chose not to engage in name-calling and disappeared from view for several minutes.
JL Partners asked 504 Republicans watching the debate how much they rated each candidate. Here’s how their scores averaged:
Vivek Ramaswamy: 6.6
Vivek Ramaswamy continued his rise in the rankings with a strong performance in Wednesday’s first Republican debate, according to our viewer poll
The biotech entrepreneur will be happy with his night work. His rising profile caused other candidates to come and narrow him down, but the attacks thrust him into the limelight and emerged as the winner in the eyes of Republican viewers.
“We’re just going to have some fun tonight,” he said. And unlike some of the candidates on either side of him, he looked like he meant business.
He managed to use the stage to introduce himself to an audience still wondering how to pronounce his name, but also showed that he was willing to annihilate opponents whenever he got the chance.
“The real choice we face in this primaries is this: Do you want a Super PAC doll?” he asked. “Or do you want a patriot who speaks the truth? Do you want incremental reforms, which you are now hearing about, or do you want a revolution?’
Ron DeSantis: 6.6
Ron DeSantis had a center stage position thanks to his poll numbers, but at times he was a bystander as rivals on either side of him battled for dominance.
JL Partners conducted an online survey of 504 registered Republicans who watched Wednesday’s debate. The results come with a margin of error of 4.4 percent
Florida’s governor came in second, even though his decision to rise above the fray caused him to disappear from view for several minutes.
After weeks of campaign resets and negative headlines, the two-hour debate was a chance to show viewers that he really is the best-placed candidate to beat Trump in the primary.
He didn’t mess up. But he also didn’t deliver the kind of decisive performance that could kill the candidates vying with him for second place in the race.
And he was noticeably quiet as conversations turned to the controversial issues of abortion and whether Vice President Mike Pence was doing the right thing in endorsing Joe Biden’s election victory on January 6, 2021.
His campaign manager James Uthmeier said, “While other candidates attacked each other, Governor DeSantis remained focused on the American people and fighting for their future with a clear vision to restore our economy, secure the border, empower parents, support law enforcement and to stand. down to the leftist elites and the DC establishment.”
Tim Scott: 6
Senator Tim Scott tried to stay out of the dogfights around him, but that meant he sometimes disappeared from the debate. But he has support and money, so he didn’t have to take any risks
A quiet night for a candidate who presents himself as a voice of reason and unity in difficult times. His efforts to stay out of a dogfight left him struggling for time in the spotlight.
But that made him the most presidential on stage, according to his proponents.
“When he talked, he was convinced he was calm,” Senator John Thune told reporters in the spin room minutes after the debate ended.
“I think he delivered assertive leadership and didn’t get involved in the fuss and bickering that went on stage, which is the best way to get Joe Biden reelected.”
And that helped him to an average ranking of six points, which put him in third place that night.
Nikki Haley: 5.8
One of Nikki Haley’s best moments came when she collided with Ramaswamy. “You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” she told him
Drawing on her foreign policy experience, Haley garnered much cheer when she quoted former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher after a bellicose altercation between two of the men on stage.
This is exactly why Margaret Thatcher said, ‘If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman,” said Haley.
She used her time to present herself as a Reagan conservative, strict on spending and tough on America’s enemies, as opposed to a field that leans more towards Trump’s America First positions.
And she managed to take Ramaswamy back a few steps by chastising him for his lack of support for Ukraine in its relationship with Russia.
“You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” she told him.
It was the kind of performance that will boost her prestige at a time when she needs to gain traction.
Mike Pence: 5.6
(L-R) Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former US Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy speak during a break in the first debate
The former vice president was also one to make the most of his evening in the spotlight. He came out swinging and that approach meant he got the most talk time at 12 minutes and 37 seconds, according to a New York Times tracker.
After the debate, he said it wouldn’t surprise anyone that he could throw punches with the best of them.
“Look, I understand when you’re vice president, at least that’s how I feel about it, that you take half a step back and let the president be the president,” he says in the spin room. “But if people are surprised by that, it’s because they didn’t know me well. People are starting to get to know us.’
He is another candidate who needs to find traction quickly and this performance should help.
Doug Burgum: 5
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is seen in the Spin Room after the first Republican presidential primary debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Perhaps his greatest achievement was simply standing on the podium after tearing his Achilles tendon playing basketball with campaign staff the day before.
“Cowboy on,” he said. “You just have to get up and do it.”
The governor of North Dakota has deep pockets and can stay in the campaign for as long as he wants. But he only had eight minutes to speak, and his manner of speech was a far cry from the fluency of other candidates.
Chris Christie: 4.9
Chris Christie came out swinging, an approach that earned him time and a nice highlight role
The former New Jersey governor has little chance of clinching the nomination and is only in the running to beat up his former ally Trump.
But he brought a style and wit to the debate that enlivened the proceedings and gave him a series of standout moments. Perhaps the best part was when he used his famous 2016 attack on the ‘robotic’ Marco Rubio again to deal a blow to Ramaswamy.
“I’m tired of a guy standing up here sounding like ChatGPT,” he said.
Asa Hutchinson: 4.9
Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, was given the least speaking time at just seven minutes and 33 seconds. He remains a long-term candidate
The former governor of Arkansas was given the least amount of speaking time at just seven minutes and 33 seconds. It meant that the much-anticipated nominee was not getting the kind of exposure that would help him extend his lead time of the nomination process.
He has positioned himself as one of the most anti-Trump candidates.
And his best moment came for something he didn’t do, rather than something he did. When candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would keep their promise to support the eventual Republican nominee, even if that person was a convicted criminal, he held his arms resolutely at his side.
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