Donald Trump, the race's clear front-runner, was less than 10 miles away from the debate site — holding his own counter-rally after deciding not to participate for decidedly vague reasons. After Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz struggled to explain their sometimes contradictory records on the issue in the Senate, Christie pounced: "I feel like I need a Washington to English converter" to understand Rubio and Cruz. On another occasion, after Cruz quibbled with moderators and then awkwardly joked that he would leave the stage if they continued with “mean” questions, Rubio said, “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving the stage no matter what you ask me.” 
 
 Rubio’s strong night came with a big asterisk, however. Winners 
 
 Jeb Bush 
 
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 Hello there, stranger, where have you been for the last 12 months? In one memorable exchange, Bush accused Rubio of choosing to "cut and run" from his commitment to pass comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate — in order to avoid the conservative backlash against supporting a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Best moment: Kasich was once again asked about his support for expanding federal Medicaid coverage for the poor in his state, an issue that is anathema to much of the conservative base. Biggest stumble: It's perhaps telling that his worst moment was still pretty good. Losers 
 
 Ted Cruz 
 
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 The Texas senator is touted as a championship-calibre debater, but he seemed off-balance almost the entire evening. He spoke slowly — and seemed to benefit most from Trump’s absence — to launch a series of razor-sharp attacks on the character of Cruz and Rubio. Chris Christie 
 
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 Since being temporarily relegated to the undercard debate, the New Jersey governor has managed to string together several strong debate performances. The bellicose New Jersey governor, who is staking all on a decent showing in New Hampshire, simply wouldn’t address anything the moderators threw at him — turning every answer into a rousing am-I-right-guys attack on the easiest of targets, Hillary Clinton. Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) 
 
 Paul’s campaign overall has been underwhelming, but this was one of his most effective debate performances. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson 
 
 Carson has been sinking in the polls and was almost invisible on Thursday evening.
– Seven Republican candidates got a chance to debate without Donald Trump present on Thursday night—though the man Megyn Kelly referred to as "the elephant not in the room" still dominated media coverage, causing some to declare him the winner. Here's what the pundits are saying about people who were actually present: Jeb Bush. Bush had a great night, most analysts agree, highlighting how different the GOP race might be with no Donald. He was "more relaxed and more forceful" and "looked positively presidential" without Trump bullying him, writes Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post. He bested Marco Rubio in an exchange on immigration and got in a few jabs at Hillary Clinton—and Trump. Marco Rubio. This wasn't Rubio's greatest debate, "but he had a better night than Cruz, which is strategically important for him," writes Niall Stanage at the Hill. He did, however, struggle when the debate turned to immigration reform. Rand Paul. After missing the last debate, Paul was another candidate to thrive in a Trump-less environment, and he proved to be "willing and able to speak to issues his party has struggled to address in recent years," writes Cillizza at the Post, who notes that while it's far too late for his campaign, "at least he had a moment." Chris Christie. The New Jersey governor had a good debate, offering his usual forceful arguments about his executive experience and his strength as a general election candidate, though "familiarity robs it of some of its power," writes Stanage at the Hill. Ted Cruz. Trump's strategy all along was to "create a circular GOP fire squad—with Ted Cruz at the center. And it worked," according to Glenn Thrush at Politico. Rival candidates hit Cruz early and often, and he also managed to lose several exchanges with the moderators, Thrush notes. John Kasich. Not an awful night for the Ohio governor, but one in which he failed to have any big moments, meaning that for his campaign to go anywhere now, "there are a lot of bodies he'll have to climb over," writes Anthony Zurcher at the BBC. Ben Carson. Carson went from "barely being asked any questions to providing answers that often bordered on incoherence," writes Cillizza. Like many others, he was puzzled by Carson's comments about Russia, which included the line "Putin is a one-horse country: oil and energy." Click for the best attack lines from the debate.