The person who most enjoyed the first Republican debate was undoubtedly former President Donald Trump. By not participating in the forum, he stayed above the fray, and what a fray it was. The night was full of acrimony and sloppiness; verbal punches were thrown but few landed. Humor and humility took the night off. The eight candidates who gathered in Milwaukee have in common that they are massively trailing the former president; nothing that took place on the debate stage will turn that around. 

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy had substantial momentum coming into the GOP debate in Milwaukee. In just two hours, he blew that advantage, and – most probably – any chance he might have had of securing the nomination. He appeared smart-alecky and disrespectful of his fellow contestants; he interrupted constantly and displayed none of the sobriety and substance so needed by a 38-year-old eager to convince voters he belongs in the Oval Office.

Ramaswamy on several occasions boasted of being the only political novice on the stage, derisively describing his fellow candidates as PAC-puppets; he also insulted the group by describing them as "bought and paid for." The lack of civility was shocking, at odds with Ramaswamy’s trademark sunniness. During the first break, he must have heard his attacks were not resonating with the audience, since he subsequently toned down the hubris, but the damage was done.

REPUBLICANS REACT TO FIRST GOP DEBATE PERFORMANCES: 'VIVEK WAS THE LIGHTNING ROD'

Nikki Haley, as expected, went after Ramaswamy on numerous fronts and especially on foreign policy. On the contest with Ukraine and on other issues too, the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor summoned facts and experience to lend her credibility.

She was passionate but not emotional – a difficult balance for female candidates. Similarly, she stood her ground but did not come across as harsh – another challenging dynamic for women in politics.

If Ramaswamy was the biggest loser of the night, Haley was the biggest winner. Tough on national security and securing the border, smart about education, she was also the only candidate to stake out a winning position on abortion. 

Though she declares herself proudly pro-life, she also acknowledges that Republicans must respect the deeply personal nature of the issue and find a middle path. Haley laid out an approach that includes making contraception universally available, encouraging adoption, banning late-term abortions and stopping the demonization of the issue. 

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It was an important night for the Haley campaign, which has failed to gain traction in recent months; it could prove a turning point.

Chris Christie also turned in a solid performance, despite being loudly booed by the audience for disparaging former President Trump. Of all the contestants, he seemed the most relaxed and drew on substantial personal achievements while serving as a federal prosecutor and as governor of New Jersey to make his case. 

Christie’s finest moment came during his final remarks when he reminded the audience of how hard – and rare-- it is to unseat an incumbent Democrat, a feat he accomplished when he defeated Jon Corzine to become governor of New Jersey in 2009. As he recalled, the last Republican to beat an incumbent Democrat president was a governor of a blue state; that, of course, was Ronald Reagan who beat Jimmy Carter in 1980.

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Still, the odds of Christie advancing in the race are slim. The vast majority of Republicans still support Donald Trump, and Christie has made it clear that he is bitterly opposed to the former president’s reelection.

Indeed, with Trump now commanding a 40-point lead in the primary race, and enjoying widespread loyalty among Republicans, all candidates needed to break through and give voters a reason to choose them over the former president. No one achieved that kind of success on Wednesday night. 

The candidate who most needed a leap forward was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose campaign has been in free fall for weeks. Though the Florida governor made no drastic missteps, he looked awkward and uncomfortable. He failed to answer most of the questions directed to him, instead doggedly inserting pre-prepared sound-bites that rarely met the moment.

The worst moment for DeSantis came when the moderators asked the candidates to indicate whether they would support Trump for president, should he win the nomination. Everyone but Christie and Asa Hutchinson signaled support for the former president; DeSantis raised his hand only after seeming to look left and right for reassurance. Viewers took note.

Tim Scott was unexpectedly subdued during the debate, which was unfortunate. His normal good cheer and faith in our country is a tonic in these bitter political times. 

Others on the stage included North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who had torn his Achilles tendon that morning playing basketball with his staff. Considering his recent visit to the emergency room, he can be excused for having failed to excite the crowd. Like former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, Burgum is unlikely to go far.

The other major player was former Vice President Mike Pence, who, contrasted especially with Ramaswamy, was the grown-up in the room. He had a decent night and doubtless appealed to conservatives who applaud his hard line on abortion and on national security issues, but his religiosity limits his reach.

Viewers hoping to find a candidate capable of pushing Donald Trump out of the race were likely disappointed. Perhaps the evening will convince Virginia Gov.Glen Youngkin to throw his hat in the ring. Without a doubt, there is an opening.

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No matter where one stands on former President Donald Trump, the one thing we can all agree on is that he is great at taking up the oxygen in a room, a news cycle, or a political party. On Wednesday night in Milwaukee, we had the chance to see what eight other candidates could do with a little room to breathe.

At turns pugilistic, substantive, and illuminating, they sparred for two hours in front of a crowd of thousands. 

It is a strange political dynamic to have an event that is simultaneously the main event and an undercard because of the front-runner’s absence from the stage. But it also happens pretty often that the undercard is the most entertaining fight of the night, particularly if the champ doesn’t bother to show. Such was the case on Wednesday as each fighter vied to show the underpinnings of a candidacy that can break from the crowd to get within striking distance of Trump.

So, how did they do? Here are my top takeaways.

REPUBLICANS REACT TO FIRST GOP DEBATE PERFORMANCES: 'VIVEK WAS THE LIGHTNING ROD'

Ron DeSantis:

All eyes were on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the longtime second-place candidate, coming off one campaign reboot and trailing by some 30-40 points depending on the poll. This debate performance was widely seen as do or almost die for him. 

DeSantis had the most striking moment of the first half of the debate when he short-circuited a raise-your-hands question on man-made climate change with the retort, "We are not schoolchildren," before launching into his experience being on the ground dealing with natural disasters. That pivot would preview DeSantis’ strategy throughout the debate. Paraphrased, it goes something like this: "Gimme a topic, any topic. Yeah, I did that thing. Let me tell you what I did. It happened in Florida. Results."

He was maybe a bit shout-y for some people’s tastes but relentlessly on message, going back over and over to what he had done in Florida, by preserving civil liberties during COVID, fighting to keep schools open and fighting for curriculum changes, and sprinkling in his own military service.

Will it close the gap? My gut says it wasn’t punchy enough to move the polls much, but certainly lets him live to fight another day with a solid performance.

Vivek Ramaswamay:

Quick on his feet and thriving in the attention economy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur was rising in polls coming to the stage. His opponents responded accordingly making him the target of many an attack. A lot of them landed. 

Nikki Haley’s exclamation, "You have no foreign policy experience and it shows!" both burnished her foreign policy credentials and illuminated a divide in the party while Gov. Chris Christie jabbed Ramaswamay for using a recycled Obama line about a "skinny guy with a funny name." 

Even Pence got a good burn in when Ramaswamay delivered a canned line about canned lines and the former veep asked, "Is that one of yours?"

Did I mention Ramaswamay is good at getting attention? For all the pummeling, and there was plenty, he is a good talker and distinguished himself from the older members of his party by being very skeptical on Ukraine, declaring this a "dark moment" for the U.S. in contrast to tried-and-true "Morning in America" messaging, and hitting cultural issues GOP voters care about, as he did with a explication on absent fathers. 

Despite obvious weaknesses on foreign policy, he is speaking to the electorate and will likely pick up momentum. But I’m not sure what difference it makes if he never differentiates himself from Trump.

Chris Christie:

The man loves to punch and his first victim was Ramaswamay. The former New Jersey governor put blood in the water for the other candidates, as he is wont to do. 

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A skilled debater, one pivot from his record on guns to the need to hold fortunate sons like Hunter Biden accountable for their gun crimes was a crowd pleaser. 

I’m putting Christie in the top tier of these debate results because he drove parts of the debate, opened attack lines that other candidates piled on, and was strongest on stage when going after Trump, who is after all, everyone’s competition. If you can’t prosecute the case against the front-runner, how do you win? 

Mike Pence: 

Dignified and statesmanlike, the former vice president also showed skills honed on talk radio with an occasional, unexpected quip, like when he joked that maybe everyone in Washington should be subject to a mental competency test. 

He forcefully made the case for his actions on Jan. 6, which he said were a fulfillment of an oath of office, but also an oath to God. 

You got the feeling Pence is in this race to say exactly that and he is unmistakably sincere in saying it. I would bet some people walked away liking him more than they thought they would tonight.

Nikki Haley: 

Happy to polish her foreign policy creds on Ramaswamay’s pocket square, Haley did not dominate the conversation, but found her moments all night. 

Who can argue with a Margaret Thatcher quote: "If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." 

In a wide-ranging and refreshing discussion of abortion policy between the candidates, they wrestled with how to balance morality, liberty, federalism, and pluralism. Haley distinguished herself from the crowd with a plea for "consensus" and a call for realism and honesty about what can be done on a federal level. 

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It is not the expected answer for a Republican primary but may be one that attracts moderate donor money with its potential to pivot to a general electorate.

Doug Burgum: 

Huge points to the governor of North Dakota for getting out there and performing solidly even though he injured his Achilles playing basketball and was either in the emergency room or on crutches all day. 

Burgum has the softer tone DeSantis lacks and is good at weaving stories into his policy points. He didn’t get much talking time, but those who listened probably came away with a positive feeling.

Tim Scott

Scott has the same winsome nature and tone as Burgum, and his talk of the American dream, having come from an impoverished upbringing, is compelling. That being said, we didn’t hear much from him tonight. For both Burgum and Scott, the problem is the GOP electorate is not looking for a happy warrior. They’re just looking for warriors. 

Asa Hutchinson

Meh. He earned his spot on the stage but didn’t do much with it.

Does any of it matter given the "elephant not in the room," as Fox News anchor Bret Baier called him, was on his way to Georgia to turn himself in in the wake of his fourth indictment instead of on the stage on Wednesday? That remains to be seen, but if you want to remain the champ, you have to get in the arena to throw punches at some point.