Gingrich, Santorum, Romney Get High Marks From Iowa Debate Watchers

At the Iowa GOP debate in Des Moines on Saturday, there were no losers, and Gingrich, Santorum and Romney did well, Republicans leaders across Iowa told Patch.

Patch editors spoke with a mix of party leaders and everyday voters after the debate.

University of Iowa political science professor Tim Hagle said candidates usually stand more to lose than to gain with debates, and, given that, no one seemed to lose big.

This was especially important for Gingrich. As the current front-runner, he was the most scrutinized, and Hagle said he did fairly well. He specifically commended Gingrich for diffusing the fidelity issue.

"It didn't get worse for Gingrich, and that was the best he could hope for," Hagle said.

He added that Romney's performance was good as well, but he felt he hesitated in his answers, something Hagle said he hasn't seen him do before.

Some felt Romney did himself some self-inflicted damage - although there is disagreement about how much - when he suggested a $10,000 bet with rival Rick Perry.

Greg Tagtow, outreach chairman for Black Hawk County Republicans, said he didn’t appreciate the wager.

“It didn’t rub me the right way. It’s not the right place in the middle of the debate. He was going smoothly until that point,” he said.

Who do you think won the debate? Tell us in the comments.

State Rep. Kevin Koester, R-Ankeny, attended the debate. He said Gingrich seemed to net the most applause inside the auditorium and performed best.

“The winner may have been Newt Gingrich, in overall response, intelligence, preparedness in handling press and the pressure. There was more pressure for him from other candidates and from moderators and he handled it well,” said Koester, who is undecided.

Koester said Romney displayed a, “presidential style,” and Santorum also came across well.

“There’s no question he was respected by others on stage for his consistency and conservatism and his leadership on foreign policy,” Koester said of Santorum.

Several others also mentioned Santorum's performance. The former Pennsylvania senator has polled low in Iowa, but commentators thought he did well at the debate.

"I think Santorum hit the nail on the head on a few issues, especially with the family thing," Judd Saul, founder of the Cedar Valley Tea Party said.

State Rep. Eric Helland of Johnston said, "Santorum, I think he's really underrated. He's one of the best debaters that we've seen in a while."

Others commented on the audience support of Ron Paul.

Noting that Paul got several rounds of strong applause, Mike Mahaffey, former state Republican Party chairman said, "It seemed to me that Ron Paul got some respect, maybe begrudgingly, from the other candidates."

He added that it is not inconceivable Paul could win the Iowa caucuses, particularly if the weather is bad, because his organization is so strong.

Several people lauded the overall tone of the debate as positive.

“I thought it was one of the better ones they‘ve had. I didn’t see the infighting or the gotcha moment,” Tagtow said. “I thought moderators did a good job keeping it even.”

However, if voters were hoping to come away with an easier decision, Helland, who is undecided on who to support in the caucus, didn't think there was any smoking gun at the debate.

"I don't thing anyone was fatally wounded, I don't think anyone will catapult to the lead," he said. "No one exploded and no one imploded."

Whether any candidate distinguished him or herself enough to sway voters is unclear.

Tyler DeHaan of Waukee, a member of the Dallas County Young Republicans, was in the audience. DeHaan said he's still uncommitted, although he's leaning towards Romney.

"My personal opinion is this race is going to come down to caucus day," he said. "It's that fluid. Twenty-four days is a lifetime. It gives a lot of time for a gaffe and a lot of time for a surge."

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad got a few shout-outs from the candidates and one literal shout-out when he yelled, from the audience, that Iowa is the healthiest state during a health care question.

Rather than name an individual winner of the debate, he said, "The winners are the Republicans and Obama is the loser. It was a good, frank open discussion."

The debate, held on the Drake University campus in Des Moines, was broadcast on ABC stations and moderated by ABC News anchors Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos. Some of the questions were provided by the Des Moines Register’s political writers.

Fox News and the Republican Party of Iowa will host a Dec. 15 debate in Sioux City.