Iowans: Debate features Trump vs. Cruz, scramble for runner-up

Iowa Republicans said they felt like they were watching two debates at once Thursday night: A Ted Cruz vs. Donald Trump beat-down for the front-runner mantle, and a separate exchange between Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio for the runner-up title.

The Trump vs. Cruz action seemed to have less to do with serious issues and more to do with each other, as they sniped about citizenship, “New York values,” and an unreported campaign loan, according to a handful of Iowa Republican caucusgoers, all undecided or willing to change their mind, who watched the sixth GOP debate and shared reaction with The Des Moines Register.

Some said they thought Christie, Rubio and Bush scored points by bringing the focus away from infighting and back to what they described as failed policies of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner in the 2016 race.

Others thought none of the presidential candidates got it quite right.

“Overall in my mind, there was too much focus on all that Obama did wrong,” said Jeff Piggott, 53, a sales executive from West Des Moines. “I really think we need to get back to presenting the positive vision for America and solutions on how to get there.”

Seven GOP candidates qualified to be on the prime-time stage Thursday night in South Carolina: Cruz, the Iowa front-runner and a U.S. senator from Texas; Trump, a New York businessman who trails Cruz by just 3 points in the new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll; Rubio, a Florida U.S. senator who is in a distant third place in Iowa; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who is in fourth place; and bottom-tier candidates Bush, a former Florida governor; Christie, the New Jersey governor; and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Three lower-polling candidates participated in an earlier undercard debate: former tech company CEO Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. One candidate was missing: Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who refused to take the undercard stage. He unsuccessfully argued that the results of the new Iowa Poll meant he met the entry criteria for the main stage, but the host, Fox Business Network, had determined the main stage candidates two days before the poll was published.

During the main event, the Trump vs. Cruz battle was at a fever pitch, with hard punches and counter punches, sometimes with both seeming petty and sniping but neither winning long-term, some of the Iowa GOP caucusgoers said.

The major tussle was over whether Cruz can legitimately be president given that he was born in a foreign country to an American-citizen mother. Cruz was also confronted about a New York Times report from earlier Thursday that he had borrowed against his investments to pay for his U.S. Senate bid but failed to report that to the Federal Election Commission as required, and his comment that Trump has "New York values."

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Undecided Republican Mike McInerney, 25, an independent insurance broker from West Des Moines, thought "both Trump and Cruz stole the show." Trump got a few more boos from the crowd than usual, but laughed them off with witty comments and a few jabs at his opponents, he said.

"Cruz mixed humor and his deep constitutional knowledge to convey his points on natural born citizenship, tax reform, and gun control," McInerney said. "While Trump's style is very different than that of Cruz, I think he conveyed the messages that he wanted to. He proudly embraced the role of the angry warrior and hammered home his points about illegal immigration, radical Islamic terrorism, and fair/free trade with China and Japan."

Chuck McGrady, a 73-year-old Buffalo Center Republican who owns a drywall and paint company, thought Cruz won. He was “most believable. He addressed questions, rather than attacking opponents. More professional in attitude and general respect of questions. Made Trump look silly in the dialogue about Cruz's citizenship.”

Phil Docken, 64, a software engineering manager from Sioux City, said Trump impressed him with an eloquent description of New Yorkers’ reaction to dealing with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, but Cruz "ran away with the debate."

“The frequently caustic Cruz was very engaging with the audience — a surprise,” Docken said.

Chris Budzisz, an associate professor of politics at Loras College in Dubuque, said he watched with 14 college students who will attend the GOP caucuses, and most agreed Cruz was most impressive.

Brian Steffen, a Simpson College communications professor who also shared commentary with the Register, said that after a poor start, Trump came on strong in the second half. “Cruz had the upper hand on Trump for the first part of the night, but he forfeited that advantage over his ‘New York values’ diatribe, especially when the Goldman Sachs revelations will hurt him among Iowa conservatives,” Steffen said. “His arguments on poor leadership, jobs and the economy were strong and had the function of reminding those disaffected voters why they’re supporting him."

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The Iowa GOP caucusgoers were mixed on who won the runner-up debate, saying Bush hit his stride with substantive comments and looked like he actually might be having fun; Christie was witty and direct; and Rubio, despite seeming over-caffeinated, was gaffe-free except when he stumbled through an attack on Christie.

Rubio learned fast not to go after Christie, the Iowans said. Rubio accused Christie of following an Obama-like agenda of gun control and supporting Common Core education standards and abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Christie fired back by refuting those points, and echoing what Rubio had told Bush in an earlier debate — that it appeared someone was whispering in his ear that attacking his rival would help him win. Christie noted that Rubio two years ago called Christie “a conservative reformer,” then called Rubio “a good, smart guy.”

“I’m never going to change my tune,” Christie said.

Rubio’s attack was “poorly executed,” McInerney said. “I was unimpressed. Sen. Rubio is better than that. Gov. Christie handled himself appropriately in response.”

But Steffen thought Rubio was more forceful than either Bush or Christie. “Rubio’s performance tonight put him clearly at the top of the pack in the second tier.”

Rubio negotiated the gap between Trump and Cruz where he could, Steffen said, including at one point inserting himself into the spat over citizenship by saying: “I hate to interrupt this episode of Court TV.”

The Iowa GOP caucusgoers said they thought Bush gave a strong and reasonable answer on the Second Amendment, scored points with some Iowa name dropping in a clash with Trump on trade, and offered some light-hearted moments.

“Jeb Bush’s one liner about Hillary spending her first 100 days in office splitting her time between the White House and the courthouse was classic,” McInerney said. “I actually laughed out loud."

Piggott thought it was a good night for Christie and Bush, as well as for Kasich, and a poor night for Trump and Carson.

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Docken thought Christie was the best of the second tier, with his “command of foreign affairs."

“He comes across as having both feet on the ground,” Docken said.

Undecided voter Tom Johnson, a 61-year-old Oskaloosa resident who works at John Deere, thought Trump won over Cruz, and Christie won over Bush and Rubio. But he couldn’t name any single candidate the winner.

“Plenty of tough talk, but the reality is they have to demonstrate they can work with both houses to implement laws and to uphold laws and the Constitution of the United States,” Johnson said.