Thursday night’s Republican primary debate took place at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, without the “elephant,” Donald Trump, in the room. Although the frontrunner skipped the debate due to his feud with Fox News debate moderator and Syracuse University alumna Megyn Kelly, that didn’t stop the other seven candidates from trying to win over the audience with the Iowa caucus looming overhead.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul all sparred it out on the main stage. The candidates’ energy seemed to pour through the television as the pressure was turned up a notch – it was crunch-time and everyone knew it.

Here are the top 3 takeaways from the seventh GOP primary debate:

Cruz is destined to finish behind Trump in Iowa

Early on in a round of questions, Cruz attacked Fox News moderator Chris Wallace for asking unfair questions to the other candidates. He claimed that the questions were phrased so that the other presidential hopefuls would criticize his policies. Once again, Cruz wasted valuable time with the moderators instead of going after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or President Barack Obama.

Cruz argued, “If you guys ask one more mean question, I may have to leave the stage.”

It was meant as a joke about Trump skipping the debate, but ended up sounding more like whining. For a sitting Senator who is second in the polls, tonight was a glowing opportunity to make a crucial jump. But, instead, Cruz blew his chance and complained just like Trump would have – a move not expected by a career politician. Even worse, Cruz’s lackluster performance  ended up making Trump seem like a better choice without him even being there.

Rubio’s Kryptonite is immigration policy

While it has been brought up several times before, Rubio seemed more flustered than usual over illegal immigration. Rubio was taking heat for trying to suddenly be strong on illegal immigration when, previously, Rubio co-sponsored the “Gang of Eight“ bill that would have provided immigrants with an easier way to become a citizen. Its mention led to a bumpy stretch for an otherwise steady night.

Of all people on the stage, it was Bush who got under Rubio’s skin the most. Bush had the crowd behind him as he challenged Rubio’s new tone. Rubio snapped, “You used to support a path to citizenship.”

To which Bush responded, “So did you, Marco.” It showed a more relaxed side of Bush and didn’t prove to be a good soundbite for Florida senator. With the Republicans increasingly latching onto immigration, it may only get worse from here.

Kasich may be a dark horse moving forward

There were several questions hanging overhead going into Thursday night, one of them being which middle-of-the-pack candidate has the best shot. And this debate might have given us a good idea: Kasich stood out as a potential force to be reckoned with.

His conservative values mix perfectly with the compassion he brings to the Republican Party and it is because of this refreshing view that his pocket of voters could very well grow.

For example, Kasich got a loud round of applause after he said, “The time has come to stop ignoring the mentally ill in this country and begin to treat them and get them on their feet, along with, of course, with treating the drug-addicted.”

Statements like that can put him well ahead of the likes of Bush and Christie. Kasich has plenty of experience and is more sensitive to those less fortunate, something that conservatives generally struggle with. A Kasich administration would most likely be focused around the common people and that is new for Republicans.

Conclusion

While the last debate before the Iowa caucus wasn’t quite the same without Trump, there were some important takeaways. And, without a doubt, it will be a wild ride ahead with the Republican Party looking to pick their best match to take on the Democratic opposition.

Kyle O’Connor is a sophomore sport management major and political science minor. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at kdoconno@syr.edu.

Published on January 29, 2016 at 12:08 am