If you somehow avoided watching the Ron DeSantis-Nikki Haley debate Wednesday night, you missed an epic event full of game-changing moments that could utterly transform the GOP nomination contest.
Just kidding.
What actually happened was that DeSantis and Haley squabbled for two hours, each giving reason after reason why the other one was awful. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the guy with the gargantuan poll lead who’s skipped every debate, only came up occasionally. As has happened in every debate so far.
Onstage, both Haley and DeSantis were basically fine: not great, not terrible. Yet not all unmemorable debate performances are created equal. DeSantis needed to shake up a contest in which he seems increasingly doomed to defeat — and he did not achieve that.
Haley needed to avoid derailing her campaign’s recent momentum, and she achieved that. The former South Carolina governor seems well-positioned to get the head-to-head contest with the former president she hoped for. Yet in a sense, any event where Haley and DeSantis are spending two hours chewing up each other is really a win for Trump.
Winner: Nikki Haley; Loser: Ron DeSantis
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Viewed as a discrete, standalone event, separate from the larger context of the campaign, the debate was a draw. Neither DeSantis nor Haley landed a knockout blow or had an incredible “moment.” Instead, they spent two hours needling and sniping at each other. It’s difficult to imagine undecided voters learning much of substance from this event.
But when we do consider the larger context of the campaign, DeSantis and Haley needed different things out of this debate. DeSantis needed a clear win more, and he didn’t get it.
Though Haley remains far behind Trump nationally, she has been on the rise in her top early state target: New Hampshire. And just hours before the debate, she got the…
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