Nikki Haley has been in the race for longer than anyone on the stage but has not yet had a moment of escape. She was clearly aimed at changing this this evening, and she had one of the most memorable back and forth of the night when she took Ramaswamy to her lack of experience in foreign policy. She went out by swinging early not only against Biden, but against the Republicans in the Congress, and she was one of the handles of contenders to advance an argument of electability against Trump by emphasizing his low notes of favorability. But for a candidate who questions 3.4% on a national level, it is not obvious that it was sufficient.
Burgum’s presence was a victory in itself for the governor, given his injury today. But he had time to speak and his most interesting answer, when he was definitely released against a national abortion ban, is not likely to win many new fans in the GOP.
But here is what I really think. The next debate is not for another month, but tomorrow, Donald Trump will go to the Atlanta authorities. Its mugshot ricoche on the internet and will land on the first page of each big newspaper in the country. At this point, will people talk about the debate tonight? Or will they be back to Trump? I would put my money on the latter, and this is not good news for anyone on stage this evening.
–Analysis of Jacob Rubashkin, interior elections
