(L–R) North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. and UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence at the second Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27, 2023. Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images
With the absent former President Donald Trump lapping the field in a manner that can safely be called unprecedented (approaching 60 percent among nine active candidates), one must ask, do the Republican National Committee (RNC) debates have any purpose?
