SC politicos react to RNC debate: Haley strong on foreign policy. Scott fails to 'stand out.'

South Carolina native Devin Forman multi-tasked in more than one ways, flipping between his phone and the projector screen, during the first Republican Primary debate Wednesday night.

An Army officer, Forman sat among a small group of politicos and friends in former Greenville County GOP Chair Nate Leupp's house. He watched candidates joust with each other as he turned to pick up his phone briefly to see snippets of former President Donald Trump's interview with Tucker Carlson online. South Carolina, after all, is still "Trump country."

However, Forman's dilemma is not unique. He said he supported Trump, but the former president's legal issues and absence on the debate stage gave him a chance to consider his other options.

"It definitely helped me narrow down a lot," Forman said.

Opinions of who performed the best Wednesday night were rooted in three factors: clarity in messaging, visibility in South Carolina politics and debate stage dominance.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and bio-tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy stood out, though Ramaswamy seemed to suffer the fate of losing support the same night he gained it.

Another South Carolina native, Sen. Tim Scott, remained overshadowed by the loud sparring even as some said his message resonated. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had many fans in the crowd, though none said much about his debate performance.

'The elephant not in the room': 5 takeaways from a Republican debate with no Donald Trump

Haley stands out in a crowd of men but will she become prominent in South Carolina?

Haley has been jockeying to rise in national polls to douse doubts of her candidacy. Political watchers said the debate is likely to improve her standing and carry her into the next debate on Sept. 27 in Simi Valley, California. But South Carolina primary voters struggle with her visibility in local politics.

"She's had two events in the Upstate, but when I ask my friends, they don't know much about her," Forman said. "I don't think she's as prominent."

An Aug. 10 presidential straw poll conducted by the Upstate grassroots Republican bloc saw Haley teetering with just over 1% of the support as a first choice candidate. But during the RN debate, Furman University Professor Danielle Vinson said Haley did exactly what she set out do: get noticed.

Part of Haley's appeal stemmed from her policy positions that came off as "reasonable" to those who watched the debate.

First, Haley said both Republicans and Democrats were responsible for increasing debt. She offered an incisive criticism of the Trump administration by saying "Our kids are never going to forgive us" for adding $8 trillion worth of fresh debt during the Trump administration.

Second, Haley said candidates needed to find consensus on Capitol Hill as no Republican president would be able to pass a federal abortion ban if they did not have 60 votes in the Senate.

SC Senate Majority Leader Massey: Let six-week ban 'settle' before any new abortion ban

Laura Beth Kirsop, associated with the Young Greenville Republicans, said Haley came off as realistic when it comes to legitimate policy, "which I think actually hurt her because she wasn't always catering to the Republican platform-sound bytes that everyone wants to hear, especially on the life issue," Kirsop said.

"Yes, I think probably a vast number of the candidates on the stage would be for an all-out ban of abortion. But she's right when she says it's not realistic," she added.

Chip Felkel, a longtime Republican strategist who does not support Trump, agreed with Haley's fashioning of Trump as a deeply unpopular political figure in American politics.

"Politics 101: If you want to challenge an incumbent, which (Republicans) are treating Trump as, you have to make them unacceptable," Felkel said. "And there are 91 reasons why (Trump) is unacceptable. His behavior has been beneath the office of the presidency, but only one candidate there last night was willing to say it," he continued.

Felkel said he he understood the dynamics. No candidate wants to offend a solid GOP base.

"But their job is not to offend him. Their job is to convince them that he is not acceptable to be reelected," Felkel said.

Vivek Ramaswamy gets challenged on civics and foreign policy

The Ohio-based entrepreneur seemed to start the night on a high. He was polling third according to RealClearPolitics. His "skinny kid with a funny name" introduction, attracted the ire of other candidates, with Haley delivering the final blow.

Ramaswamy's policy positions are very aligned with Trump, and he was one of the only candidates to say he would pardon Trump. When he talked about pulling funding from Ukraine, Haley jumped at him and unleashed a cacophonous match.

Clayton Thompson, a debate watcher from Michigan, said this revealed his glaring lack of experience in foreign policy.

"Ramaswamy started out brilliantly. He grabbed attention and he was charismatic but he got hit pretty hard by Haley," Thompson said. "He also interrupted a lot, and he came off as whiny, and I don't think that's how he intended it to be."

During the debate, Thompson exclaimed in surprise when Ramaswamy claimed the U.S. Constitution helped win the American Revolution.

"The U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787— after the American Revolution," he said with a scowl.

Vinson has students at Furman who have expressed an interest in Ramaswamy in search of younger blood in the presidential race. She grew concerned when she heard about Ramaswamy's history gaffe, especially as one of Ramaswamy's earlier campaign promises included changing the voting age to 25.

"Most of my students that were interested in him did not realize that under his views, they would not be allowed to vote, because they're all under 25," Vinson said. "Those are the kinds of things that ultimately will undo his campaign."

Scott wanted the sparring to end but struggled to stand out

Scott appeared subdued in a crowd of loud voices. He asked his peers to stop "being childish" after repeated back-and-forths between Ramaswamy and other candidates threatened to overtake the debate.

When it was his turn, Scott said he supported a 15-week federal abortion ban in his characteristic pastor-like baritone. He also said former Vice President Mike Pence did the right thing by allowing the certification of votes on Jan. 6, 2021.

"But we should be asking ourselves a bigger question about the weaponization of the Department of Justice," Scott said. "When I'm President, the first thing I'll do is fire Merrick Garland."

One of Scott's strongest suits is his likability. Felkel said he is generally considered to be a thoughtful and gentle Congressman.

"It would appear that a large portion of the Republican primary vote is more interested in anger and terseness, and 'sticking it to the libs,' as opposed to actually taking a thoughtful, reasoned approach to government and governance," Felkel said. "And that's who he is. But I'm afraid too many Republicans don't want nice. They want anger."

Kirsop said Scott was articulate if one were to isolate everything else.

"He actually sounds really great. And I noticed he had a lot of heart and a lot of realistic approaches," she said. "But I don't know if he stood out."

Devyani Chhetri covers SC Politics for the Greenville News. You can reach her at dchhetri@gannett.com or @ChhetriDevyani

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC politicos watched the first RNC debate with interest in Haley, Scott