What Each Candidate Needs to Prove on the Debate Stage

Can Ron DeSantis get his mojo back? In the first two debates, the Florida governor riffed on his stump speech and was relegated to a spectator at times as some of his rivals grabbed the spotlight.

To break through on Wednesday, he will need to assert himself early, returning to his form from earlier in the year when he was viewed as the top alternative to Donald J. Trump, the party’s front-runner, who is skipping the debate again.