The second Republican primary debate is underway at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

The former president was once again absent from the debate stage, but his opponents are finally ready to call his bluff

Nikki Haley on the debate stage Wednesday, she encouraged him. “Bring it, Tim,” she declared. Of the seven politicians vying for the Republican nomination at Wednesday’s debate, Haley appeared the most eager to clash with her competitors after proving herself a nimble debater in the first showdown.

The second television debate between Donald Trump’s Republican rivals last night was being closely watched by the party’s largest donors to see if a clear candidate could finally emerge to halt the former president’s march to the 2024 nomination.

Several of Donald Trump’s rivals stepped up their attacks against him in the second Republican presidential debate, urgently trying to dent the former president’s commanding primary lead during an event that often seemed like an undercard without him.