Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty arguably has the most to lose or gain in tonight’s Republican presidential debate in Greenville, South Carolina. That’s because he seems to be the only one of the five candidates participating in debate with a good shot of actually becoming the Republican nominee.
The four other candidates at tonight’s debate are Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and unsuccessful Georgia Senate candidate Herman Cain. Why aren’t the others really in the hunt? Paul and Johnson will be vying for the libertarian/anti-interventionist vote, which could grow this time, but totaled just 7.8% for Paul in New Hampshire’s 2008 primary. As for Santorum and Cain, losing a Senate race hasn’t been a stepping stone to the presidency since 1860 (but what great fortune Republicans had then).
