<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Time is running out for Republican presidential hopefuls not named Donald Trump.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While this is only the second debate and voting for the party's nomination does not start for almost four months, the former president has maintained a formidable lead over his rivals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tonight's debate could be the last chance for these candidates to manufacture a dramatic moment that gets their supporters to open their wallets and keep them afloat long enough to have a shot at beating Mr Trump at the ballot box.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Here are some of the key moments so far - and follow our live coverage for the latest updates and analysis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Early in the Republican debate, Chris Christie took a swipe at Donald Trump for adding to the national debt while he was president. That was not surprising or new from this longtime Trump critic. What happened next, however, was.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr DeSantis quickly chimed in and said that the former president was "missing in action" because he skipped this debate and should have been on the stage to defend his deficit spending as president.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Florida governor's quick trigger on an attack indicates he may be pivoting from his past efforts to avoid taking the former president head-on. That strategy hinged on Mr DeSantis being a clear and attractive alternative for 2020 Trump voters who have grown tired of the former president.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Mr Trump's base has been sticking with him. So Mr DeSantis may have decided he has to take the former president down if he wants to have any hope of catching him - or even closing the gap - in the polls before voting starts in January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The problem for Mr DeSantis, of course, is that it's a lot harder to land blows on a candidate who is more than a thousand miles away. So the governor's "missing in action" swipe could reveal a hint of frustration at his current predicament.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vivek the punching bag (again)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vivek Ramaswamy came into last month's debate riding an upswing in the polls. That put a target on the quick-tongued businessman for some of his rivals, including Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Mr Christie.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">New debate, same story. In fact, this time around even more of Mr Ramaswamy's opponents joined the fray. In what was clearly a planned attack, South Carolina's Tim Scott went after Mr Ramaswamy for doing business with China earlier in his career.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Ramaswamy noted that he had stopped his China dealings, but that opened him up for a swipe by Mr Pence, who said he must have pulled out of China in 2018 - at about the same time the 38-year-old candidate started voting in presidential elections.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Every time I hear you, I feel a little dumber," Ms Haley said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Ramaswamy's competitors view him as a threat. The personal nature of the attacks also suggest that some of them also just don't like the political newcomer, full stop.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Republican Party used to be the pro-business, anti-union party. As South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has pointed out, Ronald Reagan - in whose presidential library this debate is taking place - fired federal air traffic controllers when they went on strike in 1981.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Republican sensibilities on this matter seem to be changing, however. And like a lot of changes in the Republican Party, it's because of Donald Trump has shifted the party's base toward working-class voters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This new sensibility was well illustrated by Mr Ramaswamy's response to a question about the striking autoworkers in Michigan, saying he has "a lot of sympathy" for the striking workers who "have gone through a lot of hardship."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There once was a time when every Republican on a debate stage would have condemned a striking union and sided wholeheartedly with businesses on the other side of a labour dispute. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>