Which Republican Presidential Candidate Gained the Most from Wednesday Night’s Debate?
Photo via the Associated Press
Dhruv Shah (SFS ‘26): Nikki Haley gained the most from this debate. Overall, the debate was a complete disaster for the GOP and was actually hard to watch. But her attacks on Vivek Ramaswamy were not only hilarious to me as a Democrat, but they were substantive too. However, I think as she keeps rising in the polls, she’s going to be faced with her frequent flip-flopping on the issues and most importantly on Donald Trump.
Asher Maxwell (CAS ‘26): Donald Trump. Given Trump’s overwhelming lead in the primary polls, every day that a rival candidate fails to consolidate the anti-Trump vote is a win for him. Although some candidates certainly did better than others, no candidate came close to emerging as the clear second choice for GOP voters. Additionally, voter attention to the GOP primary is starting to die off, right when Trump’s rivals need the attention to stand out. Wednesday night’s debate only received 3/4s of the viewers that the first GOP debate did.
Arjun Narayan (SOH ‘25): Donald Trump gained the most from last Wednesday’s debate. There is no candidate that gained anything beyond a potential vice presidential bid on Wednesday. While certain candidates have capitalized on momentum built, none of that momentum will be actionable towards defeating Trump in the primaries. If anything, these debates represent the fragmentation of the Republican party, and why Trump may have a harder time at re-election than some Republicans believe.
Maggie Yang (SFS ‘27): Nikki Haley, who now outpaces Ron Desantis in some polls, identified the lack of feasibility in the arguments of her fellow candidates. Namely, she pointed out Tim Scott’s unrealistic promise to limit spending in Washington—given the increase in the national debt during Scott’s time in the Senate—as well as telling Vivek Ramaswamy that “every time I hear you, I feel a bit dumber” in a debate on social media use.
Madison Lilly (CAS ‘27): Tim Scott. Scott saw a lot of improvement from the last debate. This time around, he was much more outspoken and challenged many of his fellow candidates, a very different approach than we saw from him before. I definitely came out of the debate remembering him and what he said more than I did the last debate.
Dylan Partner (CAS ‘25): Donald Trump. The GOP frontrunner’s strategy of dodging debates and belittling his challengers seems to be doing him no harm, as he retains a practically insurmountable lead while all other candidates struggle for double-digit relevancy. While it’s never a smart idea to make a prediction with full certainty months off of the first primaries, I doubt the primaries will be particularly competitive.
Aamir Jamil (CAS ‘27): Ron DeSantis. He finally went after Donald Trump and addressed many of the faults of Trump’s first term. Despite poor performance in the polls, he was more assertive and stayed above the chaos of other candidates. He was also less awkward and uptight. DeSantis provided a real alternative through highlighting his policies in Florida that appeal to much of the base. Unlike other candidates who attempted to get soundbites or fought with each other, DeSantis honed in on his successes.
Neha Jampala (CAS ‘27): Nikki Haley. Had some good points about foreign policy, but her messsage was lost amidst the cross talking and calling out — i.e. the most memorable being when she said gets “dumber” listening to Ramaswamy.
Ophelia Bentley (SFS ‘27): Nikki Haley. Nothing works to increase the profile of a campaign like a funny sound-bite going viral. Even people who didn’t watch the debate were talking about her comments towards Vivek Ramaswamy. Most impressively, she had moments like this while still preserving her image as one of the “adults in the room.”
Christiana Tucholski (CAS ‘27): Nikki Haley, one of the candidates with the most improvement in the polls, was able to repeat her performance from the last debate. She had some memorable moments, especially when she commented on Ramaswamy making her feel dumber every time he speaks. She was also able to fight off other comments, only really needing to fight off comments about $50,000 curtains that she didn’t purchase. While bigger competitors will likely beat her out for the GOP nominee, she made quite the name for herself and may do better in future elections.
Zoe Sommer (SFS ‘27): Donald Trump. The debate was a mess, with the most memorable moments emerging when the various candidates incessantly talked over each other or swapped insults. Trump is the leading Republican candidate, and by evading the debate he avoids any scrutiny over past major scandals, or saying something that may lead to further controversy that could potentially hurt his performance in the polls.
Liv Schroeder (CAS ‘25): Nikki Haley stood out politically and physically as the only woman on the stage. She went viral for her comments to Vivek Ramaswamy and called for more moderate policies in comparison to the other candidates, specifically on abortion. Some experts have suggested that her approach might appeal to moderate women voters.
Yikun Jiang (MSPP ‘25): Donald Trump. From polls, Trump still leads most of the Republican presidential candidates by a large far ahead point as others are struggling to achieve double-digit polling relevancy for their campaigns. The second debate strengthened more favor for Trump when the moderator asked the question for candidates to vote someone “off the island” and the debate initiated fiery divisions among the candidates. Trump’s independent speech at Michigan, while other candidates were on the stage, also strengthened more grassroot support as an advantage point most other candidates don’t enjoy very much compared with Trump.
Zane Nagel (SFS ‘26): None of the candidates on stage. This was an embarrassing, disrespectful debate where very little policy substance was discussed. No one benefited from participating in what amounted to a televised yelling match about curtains and TikTok. Donald Trump was aided by simply not being in the fray. I would expect this strategy of avoidance to continue as he “Donald Ducks” his way through the primary season.
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