Knives out for Vivek as the newcomer steals the show from DeSantis in Trump's absence: 5 takeaways from the first Republican presidential debate

• Donald Trump's absence led to a night of barbs between the remaining GOP presidential hopefuls.
• The first presidential debate of this cycle was dominated by attacks on Vivek Ramaswamy.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was also able to dodge some potential challenging questions.

Without the presence of polling-leader former President Donald Trump in attendance, eight candidates were granted the opportunity to make a boost their spotlight at the first Republican presidential debate.