DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican presidential hopefuls met once again on a national stage for the second primary debate on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
The forum, which showcased seven GOP candidates and ran for two hours, allows the politicians to share their platforms and square off with each other on contested topics.
Though he qualified, current front-runner Donald Trump did not attend the debate in favor of meeting with union workers in Michigan.
The candidates on stage Wednesday include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Gov. Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
When was the debate? How can I watch?
The second primary Republican debate aired at 8 p.m. CT at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, Calif.
Anyone interested in watching can tune in to Fox News, Fox Business Network or Fox's digital streaming platforms, including the Fox website. The Republican National Committee also livestreamed the forum on Rumble.
What happened in the second GOP debate?
After the first debate, there wasn't a significant change in the polls, which continued to establish Former President Donald Trump's lead.
However, this debate was still an opportunity for the seven candidates to show who they are.
Iowa State political science professor Karen Kedrowski said that now these candidates are looking to secure the second place position and make a name for themselves, in case they decide to run in 2028.
Kedrowski expected to see a lot of eyes on Haley, due to her surge in the polls after the first debate, as well as Ramaswamy.
Haley continued to stand out in her debate performance with her ability to establish her stance on policies.
"We need to do reading remediation. We need complete transparency in the classroom. No parent should ever wonder what is being said or taught to their child in the classroom. We need to make sure that we have school choice so that there is competition. We need to move all the programs from the federal government down to the states and let states decide what education looks like in their states," Haley said.
While DeSantis was able to solidify more of his responses to various policy issues, he continued to jab at the former president for his lack of attendance.
"You know who else is missing in action, Donald Trump is missing in action, he should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record where they added 7.8 trillion to the debt," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
After the debate, Kedrowski says there were two clear targets at tonight's debate: Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump, while Haley and DeSantis stood out in terms of performance.
Some of those eyes on Haley came from Iowa State Sen. Chris Cournoyer, who represents Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties, and is a firm supporter of former Gov. Haley.
Cournoyer said she and her family went out to the first Republican debate in Milwaukee to watch Haley and the other candidates square off in August.
She expected Haley to discuss her "go-to" topics on stage Wednesday night, including immigration reform, foreign policy and modernizing the U.S. military.
Haley mentioned myriad foreign policy points including stopping all "normal trade" until China stopped "sending fentanyl" to the U.S., and also ending the purchase of amoxicillin from abroad instead of getting it from a producing company in Bristol, Tennessee.
"Yet our federal government only gets it from China," Haley explained. "We need to be focusing on companies that produce in America, and supporting those companies that produce in America, not companies that are helping China."
"She was very strong in [the first] debate, and I'll expect that she'll bring that same message that is resonating with the American people to the debate tonight," Cournoyer said.
Local 5 also spoke with Scott's senior campaign advisor, Matt Gorman, ahead of the debate.
"I would expect him to talk about how we can empower parents," Gorman explained. "[Scott] was in Iowa a couple weeks ago, and I was with him, when he unveiled his empower parents plan to keep kids safe in the locker room, the classroom and on their smart phones. And make sure that parents have a voice."
During the debate, Scott said he wanted to make changes in different educational platforms across students' lives, but he hasn't been to specific on how that will happen.
"More parents had more resources to make decisions how to take care of their family," Scott explained. "The one thing we should do is let the American people keep their money. When that happens, the greatest opportunities rise of the ashes."
Al Womble, the Iowa Black Caucus chair, said he wanted undecided voters to listen carefully during the debate.
"People shouldn't always necessarily look at 'D' or 'R' and just make they're decision based on that. If I'm an undecided voter, I'm like: 'There's a lot of different things that will affect my life, and what are these people saying that they are going to do to make this better for me?'" he said.
When is the next debate? Where can I watch?
The next debate will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 8 in Miami.
You can catch it on the same platforms as the first two debates: Fox News, Fox Business Network or Fox's digital streaming platforms and Rumble.
Fox has not yet announced who will moderate the next debate.
Who has qualified for the third GOP debate?
The lineup for November's primary debate is still undecided, but credentials for the third forum are stricter than ever.
Candidates will need 4% of the vote in multiple national polls alongside 70,000 unique donors to participate, the Republican National Committee announced on Friday.