Republican presidential candidates, with the notable exception of the frontrunner, former President Trump, held the second primary debate Wednesday evening at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Here’s what happened when seven other GOP candidates faced off:

Trump came under fire for not showing up, but his opponents did not highlight his biggest vulnerabilities

Trump skipped the debate and is unlikely to lose his commanding lead in the Republican primaries. He averages more than 50 percent of the votes.

Some candidates on stage took a few shots at Trump, mainly because he didn’t show up, but voters who turned to Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network or Univision to watch the debate didn’t hear much about the former’s string of criminal charges president. , his attempts to overturn the 2020 election or his threats to use the White House to punish his enemies if he were re-elected.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, as usual, railed the loudest against Trump, criticizing his compliments for Russian President Vladimir Putin, his lack of progress on a border wall and his divisive politics.

“This man has not only divided our party, he has divided families across the country,” Christie said. “He should be voted off the island.”

But Christie, who is basing much of his campaign on criticism of Trump, is not gaining much traction in the polls.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s response to Christie, whose campaign focused on his allegiance to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, was more emblematic of the way Trump’s rivals have approached him.

“Trump was an excellent president,” Ramaswamy said, “but the ‘America first’ agenda is not owned by one man.”

No one has grabbed the mantle

of No. 1

Trump alternative, but Haley took a few shots

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once Trump’s biggest rival, failed to stand out and showed only slightly more verve than in last month’s first debate.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley,

which subsequently won praise

this time the first debate did everything it could to assert itself. She attacked Ramaswamy for embracing Chinese-owned TikTok. Every time I hear you, what you say makes me feel a little dumber. went after DeSantis for supporting his state’s offshore drilling ban, even taking on her fellow South Carolinian, Sen. Tim Scott. about his service in Congress when the federal debt soared.

The exchanges could do that

ear

Haley a boost from

media

attention, like the one she received after the first debate. But she has yet to break through in the public polls and has an average of 6.3% support among Republican voters, according to FiveThirtyEight.

poll aggregator

.

The end of optimism The candidates spoke early and often

by Ronald Reagan as they stood beneath a retired Air Force One plane in his presidential library. But

with a few exceptions, /Tim Scott, for examplejp/, they did not offer

much of the Gipper’s famous optimism.

Voters heard about failing students, spiraling crime, fentanyl deaths, Mexican drug cartels and the rise of transgender identification, which was portrayed as a “mental issue.”

health

disorder” affecting the country’s youth.

I come before you today as a candidate for president because I believe this country is in deep trouble,” said former Vice President Mike Pence, who has cast himself as an heir to Reagan’s policies and political style. ‘You hear the fire on the ground. tonight on stage you’ll hear the fire and all our voices, and that’s because Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad.

The dark image is

more evidence

of Trump’s influence,

who warned of “American carnage” in his inaugural address. But it also reflects the mood of much of the American public. Republicans in particular tell pollsters they are concerned about the future of the country.

The GOP is moving further to the right on immigration

and the border

No one

President Reagan then defended

the moderators showed a video of his support

a 1986

Amnesty for nearly 3 million people who entered the US illegally.

On the contrary, DeSantis and Haley both called for the use of

US

army

power

in Mexico, which would likely be considered a violation

Mexican

sovereignty. It’s how we deal with our terrorists, Haley said, explaining her plan to use special operations forces to break up drug cartels.

Our own country is being invaded, DeSantis said.

In another telling moment, Pence would not say whether he supported a deal with Congress to protect so-called Dreamers

have been brought

if young people enter the country illegally, they face deportation. That group once enjoyed bipartisan support.

Polls show immigration is a top issue for Republican primaries, second only to inflation in some surveys. And voters across the board have generally given the Biden administration low marks on the issue. An NBC News poll released this week gives Republicans a huge 50% to 20% advantage when asked which party could best handle border security.

Republicans are divided over how to handle the auto workers’ strike

The Republican Party has embraced a right-wing form of populism in the Trump era, but that has not translated into support for unions. No candidate sided with the United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers, but the rhetoric from some candidates showed the Republican Party was wary of offending workers.

Scott took the traditional Republican position and accused the auto workers of demanding four-day French work weeks.

The other candidates dodged the attack

union members

demands and instead went after other targets. Ramaswamy and Pence criticized union bosses, with Pence accusing them of inciting class war. Haley said workers should bully the White House and blame Biden’s spending for inflation that has eroded earning power. North Dakota

Government

Doug Burgum said Biden was to blame for meddling in the markets

by subsidizing

electric cars.

The issue presents a test for a celebration

that has grown

dependent on workers in manufacturing states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania

could be

decide the general election.

Trump seems to understand the stakes. While his opponents debated in California on Wednesday night, he was in Michigan warning that the auto industry “

be murdered

“By electric vehicles. ‘You’re all on the picket lines and everything, but it doesn’t matter one bit what you get,’ he said. ‘Cause in two years you’ll all be bankrupt. .”