First GOP debate kicks off in Milwaukee with attacks on Biden, Trump absent from the stage

By SARA BURNETT, JILL COLVIN and JONATHAN J. COOPER
Associated Press

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Republican presidential candidates vying to be the leading alternative to front-runner Donald Trump opened the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night with broadsides criticizing President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and what they consider to be excessive government spending. The ex-president isn’t on stage. But he is expected to loom large nonetheless. In his absence, the debate will serve as a crucial test for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has struggled to gain traction since entering the race and is fighting to maintain his distant second-place status. More than half a dozen lower-polling candidates have been plotting how best to break through.