2nd GOP debate to get underway in California

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential hopefuls from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to former UN ambassador Nikki Haley to Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will get a second shot to target former President Donald Trump, still the front running candidate, at the 2nd GOP debate in California.

The most awaited 2nd debate will open on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California.

Republican presidential candidates get another chance Wednesday to do something many of them have been reluctant to try -- attacking Donald Trump, media reports said.

Going after the frontrunner is a time-honoured tradition in presidential races, but most of the GOP candidates in California have seen hopefuls generally soft-pedalling criticism of the former president.

One of the main reasons -- challengers do not like alienating voters who have backed Trump in the past.

Voters they will need if they are determined to eliminate Trump from the 2024 race and somehow wrest the GOP presidential nomination.

"You don't go after Trump frontally to appeal to those people," said Republican pollster Whit Ayres.

So most of the Republican debaters at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California, are expected to continue going after him sideways – arguing Trump represents the Republican Party's past, without mentioning that he faces as many as four criminal trials in 2024, USA today noted.

Trump will be absent again at the 2nd debate in California as he skipped the first one at Milwaukee last month saying he won't allow his opponents to take pot shots at him.

He will try to divert attention by travelling to Michigan to speak with his supporters in a battleground state, now the epicenter of the ongoing United Auto Workers strike, against three of US' largest automakers -- Ford , GM and Stellantis.

There is no reason why the GOP presidential candidates won't go after Trump during Wednesday's debate, because only targeting him will give them any traction with the potential voters if they want to catch up with him in the polls, poll analysts reasoned.

The man to watch would be former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who did not approve of Trump's actions in the last two years in his debate at Milwaukee.

"I'm the only one who will take Trump on," Christie said on X.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence,South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are the candidates in the debate. Asa Huttichison could ot make it because of his low rankings.

Former Vice President Pence has criticized Trump for pressuring him to overturn their 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Pence has questioned Trump-style "populism", calling for a more traditional conservative platform linked to GOP icons, such as former President Ronald Reagan.

Wednesday's debate is likely to boil down to what Republican political consultant Liz Mair called a "delicate dance" for the GOP challengers.