As the second GOP presidential debate is set to take place this evening at the Reagan Library in California, Republican strategists believe that "a culling is coming" and several of the current candidates are about to leave the race, possibly before a single delegate has been awarded, reported POLITICO.
This comes as former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson failed to meet the polling qualifications for the debate, and several other candidates, like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, are polling in the single digits.
“I don’t know that I would get out as early as I did, but if I were them, I would certainly not wait until January, especially if they can’t build any traction after these next couple of debates,” said former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a candidate from 2016 who dropped out of that contest early himself. “I think there’s going to be a massive drop-off in the next few months in terms of support.”
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So far, the only Republican candidate to drop out was Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, after failing to qualify for the first debate.
All of this comes as former President Donald Trump, who skipped the first debate in Milwaukee and is set to skip this one as well, is polling more than 40 points ahead of any of his challengers.
For months, the strongest rival to Trump was considered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who topped the former president in some early polling. However, intense media scrutiny of his policies and a performance on the campaign trail roundly criticized by observers has resulted in his numbers sinking to the low teens, and even below second place in some states. This has led to even greater splitting of the vote among Trump's rivals, allowing him to pull further ahead despite his multiple criminal indictments and other legal woes.
