Field of Republican presidential candidates is smaller, but latest debate shows the differences are bigger

News Snapshot:

Smaller group of presidential candidates. Higher stakes. More confrontations. Flashes of anger. The presence of the word “scum” in a nationally televised session. Even two Canadian issues. The third Republican presidential debate came at roughly a year before the 2024 general election—and at the beginning of a new stage of the struggle for the GOP presidential nomination. The candidates were asked a string of questions—but it was a series of other questions that the debate answered. Here are some of them: How was this debate different from other debates? It came a day after Republican candidates and interests were defeated...