DeSantis is asked about the Florida education guidelines on teaching slavery. He immediately calls it a hoax and attacks Vice President Kamala Harris (America's first Black vice president), which has been his campaign's strategy on this issue since it first broke. The moderators are quick to tee up a discussion between DeSantis and Scott, though, since the South Carolina senator was among the most outspoken Republicans against the DeSantis plan.
-Jacob Rubashkin, 538 contributor

Moderators questioned Haley on "school choice." Seven Republican states, including Florida, passed "universal school choice" this year, which mostly means vouchers for private schools that are available to nearly all students, without income limits. Public school supporters have said these vouchers are a backdoor way of defunding public schools. In most states, states take the per-pupil allocation of tax dollars and give the money directly to parents instead, allowing them to pay for private, religious, or homeschooling courses. In many states the vouchers could go to parents who could otherwise pay for private school, and aren't enough to pay for full tuition for parents who couldn't afford it. The public is divided on these policies, but trust in public schools and public education has been declining, especially among Republicans.
— Analysis by Monica Potts of 538

Asked about the challenges of high health care costs for Americans, Haley argued that the system needs a major overhaul, from the insurance companies to hospitals, with improved transparency for patients so they have more options and better knowledge of the costs they'll face. Still, this issue isn't as high on Republicans' list of key issues. In a recent Economist/YouGov survey, 58 percent of Republicans said "heath care" was a very important issue. That sounds high, but 81 percent said the same of jobs and the economy, 81 percent of national security and 77 percent of immigration. It's not the 2010 tea party era anymore, or even 2017, when the GOP failed to get rid of Obamacare while in full control of the government.

— Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

In polling for EdChoice conducted by Morning Consult in August, 46 percent of Republicans strongly or somewhat support school vouchers, while 11 percent strongly or somewhat oppose vouchers, 27 percent say they have never heard of them, and 16 percent don’t know. After being provided a definition, support for vouchers among Republicans increased to 70 percent, and opposition increased to 19 percent.
—Analysis by 538

Trump maintains a lead of 27 percentage points over Haley, his nearest competitor in South Carolina, according to polls conducted since the first debate. Haley’s average support has grown by 9 points since the first debate, while DeSantis and Scott have fallen.

According to a September survey from Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research/Fox Business, 69 percent of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters say they support their first-choice candidate strongly, while 28 percent say they support them only somewhat. Among those that list Trump as their first choice, 86 percent say they support him strongly, while the second-place candidate, Haley, has only 57 percent saying the same.

In a September survey by Monmouth University/The Washington Post, South Carolina primary voters are split on whether the Republican Party should nominate a candidate who agrees with them on major issues (51 percent) or one who can beat Biden (45 percent). Among voters who say they are very or somewhat conservative, selecting a candidate who can beat Joe Biden is more important by a margin of 7 and 11 percentage points, respectively. Voters who say they are moderate or liberal prefer a candidate who agrees with them on major issues by 31 percentage points.

—Analysis by 538