When Stuart Varney pressed DeSantis on the relatively high number of Floridians without insurance — Varney said 2.6 million — DeSantis blamed Washington.

“I think this is a symptom of our overall economic decline,” DeSantis said.

But the numbers from DeSantis’s own Florida Department of Health don’t show any correlation between the state of the economy and the number of Floridians without health care.

Despite population growth, and despite changes in the economy, Florida has more than 2.5 million people without health insurance at least since 2012, according to Florida Department of Health Data.

The total number of uninsured Floridians has remained relatively stable since 2018, according to the state.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

Before the first break, we saw a debate about a sensitive issue on the trail devolve into a heated back-and-forth where Ramaswamy and Scott -- who usually maintains a cheery disposition on the trail and stage – were at each other’s throats.

In calling for ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants in the United States, Ramaswamy invoked the 14th Amendment – which bestows the rights of citizenship on all who were born in the country, including freed slaves.

“Now the left will howl about the Constitution and the 14th Amendment. The difference between me and them is I've actually read the 14th Amendment. What it says is that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the laws and jurisdiction thereof are citizens,” Ramaswamy said.

Scott countered Ramaswamy's argument, noting that the clause had to do with slavery, not illegal immigration.

“I think it's simple that clearly it was designed for slavery and not for illegal immigration,” said Scott. Scott then pivoted to saying that Ramaswamy, who said during the last debate that the other candidates were ‘bought and paid for,’ was “just in business with the Chinese communist party. The exchange devolved into a heated back-and-forth, with Ramaswamy at one point interjecting, “thank you for speaking while I’m speaking.”

-ABC News' Isabella Murray and Oren Oppenheim

When asked whether the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act was “here to stay,” Pence started off by calling for a federal expedited death penalty for mass shooters. When pressed again by the moderator, he turned the question of the ACA into one about Trump, suggesting that questions about health care policy should be a decision by Congress and the executive branch, while Trump wants to “consolidate power in the executive branch.” Pence said he’d like to “revive federalism in America.”
— Analysis by Leah Askarinam of 538

In our pre-debate 538/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 9 percent of likely Republican primary voters were looking at “improving health care” as one of up to three most important issues (among a list of 20) in deciding which candidate to vote for in the primaries.

—Analysis by Holly Fuong of 538

Outside of the Trump-critical wing of the Republican primary — featuring Christie and Hutchinson, with major appearances by Pence — most of the presidential field has tip-toed around Trump, careful not to attract his ire. But in the last couple weeks, some candidates have started taking on Trump more directly, jeopardizing their prospects as his running mate.

Trump was already unlikely to name a challenger as his VP pick. Of the 19 unique Democratic and Republican presidential nominees since 1972, only four selected a running mate who had run against them in the same year’s primary. And Trump is even more prickly about loyalty than his recent predecessors.

Last week, we analyzed the tweets of the six highest-polling Republican candidates (other than Trump) in 538’s national polling average. Until recently, DeSantis had hardly acknowledged the former president, mentioning Trump just once since Jan. 6, 2021. But that changed last week, when DeSantis published three critical tweets about Trump. Scott, meanwhile, has largely kept his social media tone neutral toward Trump, but we did see a rare direct criticism on the stump last week, when he said Trump’s suggestion that he’d seek a compromise on federal abortion legislation was the wrong approach. Haley’s tone toward Trump shifted earlier this summer, from cautious to directly critical.

Tonight could tell us whether these recent instances of criticism are the beginnings of a new trend in which the GOP field actually tries to topple the front-runner.

—Analysis by Leah Askarinam of 538