Key takeaways:
- The focus of the first Republican primary debate shifted away from Donald Trump, who is leading the polls.
- Vivek Ramaswamy, a political newcomer, was the target of the majority of the attacks.
- The debate did not seem to have any effect on the race for second place, with many of the candidates avoiding going directly at the former president.
At the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday, the focus shifted away from former President Donald Trump, who is leading the polls with 52% of GOP voters according to the FiveThirtyEight average. Instead, the majority of the attacks were directed at Vivek Ramaswamy, a relatively unknown political newcomer.
Trump is currently facing four criminal indictments involving his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election, misuse of classified documents and falsification of business records to make hush money payments to a porn star. Despite this, his nearest rivals either defended him or avoided going directly at the man who is leading by such a big margin that he didn’t even think it was worth attending the debate.
Ramaswamy, a biotech millionaire, has emulated Trump on just about every issue, making him a target for the other candidates. Despite the attacks, the fundamental dynamic of the Republican primary campaign remains unchanged: Trump’s dominance.
The debate did not seem to have any effect on the race for second place, with many of the candidates avoiding going directly at the former president. It was yet more evidence of the 2024 GOP race turning into a race for second place, with Trump’s nearest rivals either defending him or treading cautiously around him.
The Republican primary campaign is still in its early stages, and it remains to be seen if the debate will have any effect on the race. For now, it appears that Trump’s dominance is still firmly in place.
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