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

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…