Pence and Ramaswamy engaged in the first fiery back-and-forth of the night, with the former vice president going after the entrepreneur in an unprompted attack.

"You got people on this stage that won't even talk about issues like Social Security and Medicare," Pence said. "Vivek, you recently said, a president can't do everything. Well, I got news for you … the president of the United States has to confront every crisis facing America. I will put our nation back on the path to growth and prosperity and restore fiscal responsibility."

Ramaswamy didn't directly take Pence on in response, saying he'd tap into all of America's energy resources.

Pence didn't let Ramaswamy off the hook, firing back, "Let me explain it to you. I'll go slower this time."

Burgum finally gets a word in, and starts with an easy "break a leg" joke. Notable that he pivots pretty quickly from the economy write large to specifically talk about energy. He's come armed with the statistics you'd expect from the leader of one of the top energy-producing states in the union.

Haley, in her first remarks on stage, attacked her fellow Republicans for contributing to what she called runaway spending. She said that Pence, Scott and DeSantis all voted to increase the debt through various pieces of legislation.

"What I care about the fact is that no one is telling the American people the truth," Haley said. "The truth is that Biden didn’t do this to us, our Republicans did this to us, too."

She added, "I think it's time for an accountant in the White House."

Pence, in response to a question about how he supported major spending packages as vice president, pointed to his experience as proof he's ready to take on the top job.

"I must say you with all due respect to all of my friends on the stage, and even to one that’s probably looking on, I think unquestionably I am the best prepared, the most tested, the most qualified and proven conservative in this race," he said.

DeSantis revels in his record of snubbing public health recommendations to curb the spread of COVID-19. But he largely omits the closures of schools and businesses that happened under his watch.

Seven states did not issue stay-at-home orders to their residents, but not Florida.

On April 1, 2020, DeSantis issued an executive order directing all Florida residents to "limit their movements and personal interactions outside of their home." The order expired April 30, 2020, and Florida began a phased reopening in May.

Though he carved out an exception for religious services and some recreational activities, DeSantis didn't exempt in-person classroom instruction. DeSantis' Department of Education issued a March 13 recommendation that Florida schools close their facilities for an extended spring break before lengthening the closure through the end of the school year in early June.

Schools reopened in person in August 2020.
-Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

Trump maintains a lead of 28 percentage points over his nearest competitor in South Carolina, according to the latest polls.

Haley and Scott, the two candidates from South Carolina, are both polling higher in South Carolina than they are nationally, according to our polling average. Trump is polling about 7 points lower in South Carolina than in national polls.

Only one pollster, the Manhattan Institute has tested the favorability of Republican candidates in South Carolina since July 1. That survey found Scott and DeSantis had the highest net favorability in the state (+56 and +55 percentage points, respectively), and Trump and Haley close behind (+39 and +33 points, respectively). Pence had a net favorability of +1 point, and Christie was underwater by -36 points.

Economic issues are most important to Republican primary voters in South Carolina, according to a July survey from Fox Business/Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research. Fifty-one percent of Republican voters said economic issues would be most important for deciding their vote. Twelve percent each said immigration issues, social issues and foreign policy were most important.

In an August survey by National Public Affairs, 40 percent of South Carolina Republican voters said that Trump wouldn’t lose their support even if he did not show up to the debate. Twelve percent said that they support Trump, but if he didn’t debate they would be open to or definitely supporting someone else, 32 percent said they wouldn’t vote for Trump regardless, 9 percent said they probably wouldn’t watch the debate anyway and 6 percent were unsure.

-Analysis by FiveThirtyEight