With Trump Out Of First Republican Debate, Republican Voters Expect These 2 Candidates To Shine

Republican voters will get their first preview on Aug. 23 of candidates trying to get the GOP nomination for president in the 2024 election.

Here’s a look at who Republican voters think could win the first Republican primary debate without Donald Trump making an appearance.

What Happened: For many months, former president Trump has commanded a sizable lead among Republican voters in most election polls, including a 41-point lead in last week’s poll.

After months of hinting that he would sit out the first debate, Trump has said that he will not be taking part in Wednesday’s event.

The first debate among Republican presidential candidates will air on Fox News, a unit of Fox Corporation FOXFOXA and will also be streamed on Rumble Inc RUM.

Fox and Rumble also landed the rights to the second Republican primary debate, set for Sept. 27, with Fox choosing to air the next event on its Fox Business channel.

Voters Pick the Potential Winner: Trump previously said that he might watch the debate and use it as a way to pick his vice president candidate and running mate.

If that’s the case, Trump will likely be picking between Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis, according to voters in a Morning Consult poll.

A poll conducted among Republican voters from Aug. 10 to 13 saw respondents say Trump would be the likely winner if he chose to participate in the debate, with the following results for who would “win” the first debate.

Donald Trump: 58%

Vivek Ramaswamy: 14%

Ron DeSantis: 11%

Mike Pence: 4%

Tim Scott: 3%

Chris Christie: 2%

Nikki Haley: 2%

Doug Burgum: 0%

Don’t Know/No Opinion: 5%

With Trump choosing not to participate, the results of voters who picked a winner without the former president’s participation will be more closely watched.

Among Republican voters polled, the following were picked as the winner without Trump.

Vivek Ramaswamy: 32%

Ron DeSantis: 31%

Mike Pence: 12%

Tim Scott: 4%

Chris Christie: 4%

Nikki Haley: 4%

Doug Burgum: 1%

Don’t Know/No Opinion: 12%

Why It’s Important: The results of the survey from Morning Consult show that Republican voters expect the first debate to be a two-person race between Ramaswamy and DeSantis to be declared the winner.

Ramaswamy has been steadily climbing up the election polls with growing support and favorable rankings among Republican voters.

Ramaswamy has also drawn previous praise from Trump, which could again ask the question of when the former president will choose to start attacking him or perhaps make him a potential running mate.

After months of ranking second behind Trump, DeSantis has seen his support in polls drop and, in some cases, fall below Ramaswamy and Christie. DeSantis announced a new campaign manager and has cut portions of his campaign staff in a move that experts see as a potential reset.

Without Trump present, viewers will likely be interested to see how much the candidates use their time to attack Trump or if they continue to mostly attack President Joe Biden and the Democratic party.

Trump’s non-participation in the first debate is at the same time as he enjoys a sizable lead in election polls and others battle it out for second place.

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had…I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday.

Several opponents including DeSantis and Christie have called out Trump for potentially skipping the debates.

The first debate could significantly shift the polls and betting odds for the Republican race to compete with Trump to win the party’s nomination.

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