Asa Hutchinson runs as though 2024 were 2004. Doug Burgum, unknown and undefined, enjoys what no one else on the stage does: the opportunity to make a first impression.
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Vivek Ramaswamy looks for a way to become something more than this year’s Herman Cain or Andrew Yang — a guy without experience in political office who makes a favorable impression, but not one favorable enough to win votes.
Chris Christie, though out of step with the party whose nomination he seeks, looks to improve his rising poll numbers by daring to criticize the man who is not on the stage as others cower from this.
Ron DeSantis runs Florida well and his presidential campaign horribly; he looks to turn it around under difficult circumstances, with everyone else on stage looking to take his place as the runner up, tonight.
Mike Pence, a decent man who looks like he could play the president in a movie, needs to display some snap, crackle, and pop; he currently makes Phil Gramm look like John F. Kennedy in the charisma department.
Nikki Haley, though on the Trump foreign policy team, often sounds like a Team America: World Police, Republican retread; possibly as the only woman on the stage she can find a way to stand out.
Fellow South Carolinian Tim Scott boasts an inspiring backstory, exudes likeability, and offers a fresh face; he enters the debate with the best chance of displacing DeSantis as the Trump alternative.
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