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

The idea that all of this is "not that complicated" and "pretty simple" is Ramaswamy's pitch. He's organized his campaign around the idea of simple truths. As expected, he's already drawn attacks from other candidates on the stage. Pence has already hammered him on his lack of experience.
-Analysis by Monica Potts of FiveThirtyEight

Christie received loud boos from the crowd as moderators introduced the Republican field at the start of the debate. As of August 2023, the former New Jersey governor’s unfavorability rating is nearly 49%, according to the latest polling averages [published by FiveThirtyEight], () while his favorability rating hovers at 23%.

-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr and Olivia Osteen

In 2016, Trump was the ultimate outsider candidate — he didn’t receive a single endorsement from a sitting senator, representative or governor until after he had already won New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. This year, though, he already has a ton of elite support. According to the FiveThirtyEight endorsement tracker, he has 343 endorsement points — nearly eight times as many as DeSantis, who is in second place.

The 2016 race notwithstanding, endorsements have historically been very predictive of who eventually wins a party’s nomination. The candidate with the most FiveThirtyEight endorsement points on the day before the Iowa caucuses has won 11 of the last 17 Republican and Democratic primary fights without an incumbent president. And when that candidate has a dominant endorsement lead, they win even more often: Endorsement leaders who had collected more than 15 percent of the estimated available endorsement points before Iowa won nine times out of 10. And Trump already has 17 percent of all available endorsement points with five months left until Iowa.

-Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight