On Sept. 16, the Republican nominees for the 2016 election squared off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

The ten faces from the August debate remained on the stage, but were joined by former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, whose poll standings prove that her popularity improved from the earlier debate.

However, the face that everyone had their eyes on from the start was none other than Donald Trump, who brought the fireworks early. Just minutes into the debate, Trump insulted Sen. Rand Paul, questioning him for being invited to the primetime showdown despite his plummeting poll numbers.

Trump’s antics continued throughout the night. He refused to apologize about remarks made in regards to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s wife and had to respond to earlier statements insulting the face of lone female nominee, Fiorina.

Like every debate, certain individuals appear to be winners while others end up on the losing end. In this GOP debate, Trump was not one of the people on top, according to CNN writer Jared Diamond.

His lack of knowledge in policy was evident at this debate, Diamond said in an article written a day after the event. Trump went long stretches of time without even saying a word. He often failed to explain what he would do and how he would do it when asked questions about policy. This was evident in topics ranging from immigration to foreign policy, and even taxation.

With Trump struggling with policy questions, according to multiple CNN and Fox News sources, there was room for other candidates to make a run at The Donald’s No. 1 spot in the polls. The consensus was that the candidates who did this most effectively were Fiorina and Sen. Marco Rubio.

Both Fiorina and Rubio were very personable, Diamond said, bringing up events from their pasts.

“I buried a child to drug addiction,” Fiorina said, reflecting on a sad time in her life. A post-debate poll conducted by CNN had Fiorina moving up to No. 2 in the rankings.

Fiorina also defended herself against attacks that came her way (from Trump), saying what Fox News Clint Henderson described as “One of the best digs of the night.”

Rubio had a similar tactic to Fiorina, continuing to mention his heritage and past as a descendant of Cuban immigrants. He also informed audiences that he will not be running for senate again because he is fed up with Washington.

In regards to the other Floridian politician, many argue that former Gov. Bush also had some positives to take away from this debate. For months, people have criticized Bush for his lack of energy, and overall boring character.

“Bush appeared to come out of the shell of the tortoise,” Diamond said.

He did this by engaging in altercations with Trump and defending his brother’s actions as president.

Gov. Chris Christie was another winner, according to Diamond. Christie presented himself as a person of the people, by ridiculing Trump and Fiorina and attempting to talk about the country instead of other candidates.  

However, not all candidates were winners. According to Diamond, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, and Ted Cruz all suffered from a lack of air time. Statistics show that neither of these candidates broke the top six in minutes spoken.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich also received less talk time, but may have saved himself with strong answers on policy and other topics.

The post-debate polls concluded that one of the biggest disappointments of the night came from Dr. Ben Carson, whose numbers dropped significantly.  His overall strong performance in the August debate led to him moving up to No. 2 in the polls, even tied for first in some states. However, his debate performance created a greater separation between him and Trump, even moving him down to third place in certain states. Carson appeared to play this debate safe, according to Diamond.

Even when Carson was specifically asked by Gov. Christie who he was referring to in a quote generalizing  politicians, Carson would not use names, as he tried to avoid a scuffle with other candidates.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul failed to leave a positive mark on most people, placing him last in a debate favorability poll conducted by Breitbart News Network.  During the debate, Paul made statements regarding the Iran agreement that completely contradicted Republican views. Furthermore, his stance on national security did not sit well with other candidates on the stage.

The next CNN debate will take place Dec. 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.