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Seven Republican candidates for president will meet Wednesday night for a second GOP debate - with the dominant polling leader Donald Trump once again absent and trying to upstage the event.
It will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and air for two hours on Fox and Univision starting at 5 p.m. Alaska time. The field has narrowed only slightly since the first GOP debate in Milwaukee, with former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson failing to meet the polling and fundraising benchmarks the Republican National Committee is requiring to participate.
Here’s what we’re watching for.
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1. Ron DeSantis
What to know about the candidate: DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is struggling to hold on to his initial position as Trump’s most viable GOP challenger. He’s fallen behind or running about even with other rivals such as Nikki Haley in the early-nominating states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. And Trump’s lead over everyone - both nationally and at the state level - remains enormous.
Keep an eye on this: DeSantis used the first debate to promote his own record and avoided tangling with other candidates. But he may need to take more risks - and sharpen his attacks - to prove to skeptical donors and voters that he can defeat Trump. DeSantis has recently seized more opportunities to hit the former president directly: He criticized Trump by name for adding to the national debt, and said on Iowa radio that “all pro-lifers should know that [Trump is] preparing to sell you out” after the former president called six-week abortion bans “terrible.”
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2. Vivek Ramaswamy
What to know about the candidate: Ramaswamy, a businessman and first-time candidate, seized the spotlight at the first GOP debate in August. His fiery speeches - touting a Trump-like platform - have gotten him further in the primary than many more established Republicans. But that rising profile has also brought more scrutiny of Ramaswamy and his inconsistent statements.
Keep an eye on this: Ramaswamy was a target at the first debate, where he positioned himself as Trump’s most fervent defender and clashed repeatedly with hawkish conservatives such as Mike Pence and Haley. The combative performance won him new fans - but also hiked his unfavorable ratings among debate watchers polled by The Washington Post and its partners. Another headline-grabbing night for Ramaswamy could be similarly polarizing - and he needs to convert curious viewers into voters backing his campaign.
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3. Nikki Haley
What to know about the candidate: The first debate proved a breakout moment for Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ex-U.N. ambassador. She delivered some of the sharpest lines against her rivals - including Trump - and saw the most dramatic increase in viewers considering her. She’s parlayed that into early-state momentum, with recent polls showing her gaining in Iowa and New Hampshire and running second to Trump in her home state of South Carolina.
Keep an eye on this: Haley’s rise in the polls after the first debate is likely to make her a top target on Wednesday night, but she’s proved to be an agile debater who knows how to throw a punch. Some Republicans - particularly DeSantis supporters - argue that Haley’s pitch has greater appeal to moderates and voters who are critical of Trump rather than the many voters within the GOP base who are still loyal to the former president. As she touts her electability against President Biden, Haley has to show donors that she has a path to win over both sides of the Republican coalition.
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4. Mike Pence
What to know about the candidate: As the former vice president, Pence had enviable advantages entering the GOP race including strong name recognition and a deep Rolodex of donors. But among voters loyal to Trump, he has struggled to overcome the perception that he was disloyal to the former president after refusing to join his failed effort to try to overturn his election defeat. His favorability ratings have lagged behind other GOP candidates among Republican voters.
Keep an eye on this: Pence is a more seasoned debater than many of the candidates and he was able to highlight his own résumé and foreign policy knowledge while jabbing at Ramaswamy’s inexperience during the last debate. But he is battling other contenders among key groups of voters that he had hoped would be his natural constituency - including evangelicals, who often have outsize impact in the Iowa caucuses. As others such as DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) try to gain a foothold, look for Pence to use his answers to strengthen his connection with those voters by highlighting his Christian faith and his life’s work pushing for restrictions on abortion.
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5. Tim Scott
What to know about the candidate: Scott’s advisers have insisted that he will maintain a positive message throughout the campaign and that he will win over voters by looking like the adult on the debate stage if others squabble. But he often receded on the stage in the first debate, failing to create a memorable moment.
Keep an eye on this: Some donors were disappointed by Scott’s performance, especially given the millions of dollars that have been spent on ads to raise his profile by both the campaign and the allied super PAC in recent months. Despite all the spending, Scott is still in the single digits in the polls and in need of a moment that captivates GOP voters.
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6. Chris Christie
What to know about the candidate: The former New Jersey governor’s biggest selling point among those who urged him to enter the race was that he stood the best chance of making the case against Trump on the debate stage. But Trump’s absence has made it difficult for the former U.S. attorney to create those kinds of viral moments.
Keep an eye on this: Christie was offered a chance to attack DeSantis early during the first debate and chose not to as he tried to keep the focus on Trump. But the ascendancies of other potential challengers to the former president who appeal to the party’s moderates - namely candidates like Haley - could complicate his ability to continue rising in New Hampshire where he hopes to engineer a surprise finish. While he’ll drive his arguments against Trump in this debate, look for him to seize opportunities to make the case he’d be a stronger challenger than Haley and others to the former president.
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7. Doug Burgum
What to know about the candidate: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum had very little name recognition when he first announced his bid for the White House, but his wealth has allowed him to introduce himself to voters as a problem-solving conservative with small-town values. He was at risk of not making the debate stage, criticizing the Republican National Committee’s polling criteria as a “goofy clubhouse rule.”
Keep an eye on this: Burgum weathered the first debate after tearing his Achilles’ tendon during a game of pickup basketball. He won points for resilience, but allowed others to get more speaking time. As one of the lower-tier contenders, he will need a breakout moment in this second debate if he hopes to register in the polls as more than an also-ran.
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8. Donald Trump
What to know about the candidate: Trump and his team were happy with their decision to skip the first debate, which they counterprogrammed with a pretaped interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The former president has suggested he will skip “the debates” in general and said he has no reason to engage when he’s so far ahead in the polls. Instead of taking the stage in Simi Valley on Wednesday, he’ll be in Michigan speaking to autoworkers, a day after Biden joined the Detroit picket line with union members on strike.
Keep an eye on this: Trump’s visit to Michigan, a battleground state in the general election, comes as his team looks beyond the primary and toward a likely rematch with Biden. But the former president has also planned more trips to Iowa after campaigning sparsely there, and allies of DeSantis have tried to hit Trump as “too weak to debate.” Wednesday’s faceoff could mark a new phase in rivals’ willingness to attack Trump - or further underscore their reluctance.
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Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.