Aug 31, 2023 By Dave Ball 5 min read

Last week, 4,000 people packed into the Pfizer Dome Arena in Milwaukee and 12.8 million more watched at home to see eight of the nine major contenders for the Republican presidential nomination try to displace the ninth candidate as the front-runner.

None even came close to succeeding.

To use an analogy that Pittsburghers will understand, the event more closely resembled a pre-season football game than a debate. In this pre-season game, a large number of variously talented players are all vying for a quarterback position and the No.1 QB is not playing. Because of limited playing time, the focus is on making big plays that grab the coach’s attention. Hence, we had a stage full of people – way too many people – showing off, tossing zingers, attempting to land one-liners that will look good in future fundraising videos, and maybe tossing out a few ideas if the opportunity presented itself. At the end of the evening, we knew little more of substance about the candidates than at the beginning and the No. 1 QB is still No.1.

In the roughly two hours of cacophony, who outperformed whom? Even the professional political talk parsers had trouble arriving at any consensus. Read a dozen columns and get a dozen versions.

I thought Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida had a good night. His position on the abortion issue, boiled down to believing in a culture of life and holding Democrats accountable for their extremism, was good and will probably play well during the campaign. He also hit the weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was especially strong on defending the border.

Vivek Ramaswamy also had a good night. He was articulate and bright, although occasionally seemed a bit brash. He declared climate change a hoax, which is bound to create some discussion. He differed vociferously with former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over support for Ukraine, which caused Haley to criticize him for lack of foreign policy experience. During her diatribe, however, Haley called Ukraine a “friend” which is not the reality. Ramaswamy’s best moment may have been his defense of the nuclear family, which he called “the greatest form of governance known to mankind.”

Haley received good reviews from some and less-than-good reviews from others. She went after Trump on national debt and called him “the most disliked politician in America.” Haley was loud on the abortion issue, playing up her woman’s role. She seemed stiff most of the evening.

Pence did not have a good night. He was argumentative, constantly went over his allotted time and frequently interrupted. His shots at Ramaswamy were mean-spirited. His description of his actions on Jan. 6, 2021 were cogent and well-received. Many were looking for Pence to break out with a “senior statesman” performance but that did not happen.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie played his “never Trump” role to the hilt. He was booed during the introductions and then again later on for comments critical of Trump. He hit Ramaswamy with some harsh comments that didn’t win him any friends in the audience.

The rest of the candidates on the stage were there, and one must ask why? Does anyone remember anything they said? Polling after the debate showed DeSantis at 29%, Ramaswamy at 26%, Haley at 15%, Pence at 7%, South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott at 4%, Christie at 4%, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum at 1% and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson at 1%.

The big questions going into the debate were; Did Trump do the right thing by not appearing? Have the indictments hurt the former president? Would anyone have a breakout night and close the gap with Trump? Will Trump appear at the next debate? What will we learn?

Did Trump do the right thing by not appearing? Yes. It would not have helped him and it gave the other candidates more space to make their cases.

Have the indictments hurt Trump? It does not appear so, as his popularity among Republicans remains above 50% and merchandise sales with his mugshot are strong.

Did anyone close the gap in the debate? A Five Thirty Eight polling average the day after the debate compared to before the debate shows Trump at 51.6% after and 52.1% before, DeSantis 14.8% after and 14.5% before, Ramaswamy 9.7% after and 8.9% before, Pence 4.3% after and 4.2% before, Christie 3.3% after and 3.5% before and Haley 3.4% after and 3.5% after. Trump is still nearly 37% ahead of his closest competitor.

Bottom line – Trump won bigly.

You never know with Trump, but unless something changes dramatically, it would not seem likely that he will be at the next debate in September.

What did we learn? Standing a large number of candidates on a stage and asking questions with one-minute answers is not a very good way to learn much of anything. We also learned that Republicans must put forth a vision and concrete plans to reverse the decline of America. “Lowering taxes” is not a plan. “Better border security” is not a plan. How? How will the plan help the average American? What is in it for the voter?

One thing is for sure – the field needs to be trimmed quickly so voters can focus on the candidates with legitimate chances of winning. We learn over and over that stampede primaries do not help the cause.

Dave Ball is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.