This is an opinion column.

As the painful noise of the most recent Republican presidential debate abruptly died down, only a few candidates emerged as remotely capable of mounting a challenge to Donald Trump for the top of the Republican ticket.

The debate at the Reagan National Library was absolutely awful. The moderators couldn’t control the candidates or pace of the evening, nobody answered the questions asked, and comprehending anyone required tremendous effort. The highlight of the debate was when the moderators finally turned off the microphones of unruly candidates. The evening culminated with Dana Perino asking the candidates to play Survivor and write the name of someone on stage who should be voted off.

While the candidates declined to play along, I can’t watch another Republican debate until the field narrows down to Trump and one or two others. Let’s run down the candidates who should be voted off the stage in no particular order.

Gov. Doug Burgum is reasonable, principled, and in a border war with Kristi Noem over which Dakota is better. The federalist in me is rooting for the guy, but his departure appears to be imminent.

Chris Christie is entertaining to watch, but he has no traction with the current GOP base. The goal of any serious candidate is to secure the nomination; Christie’s purpose is to punch Trump in the face. He’s had his fun in the race, but he can still troll Trump as a talking head on CNN.

Sen. Tim Scott is one of my favorite senators, but he’s the second best politician from South Carolina in the Republican primary. He needs a breakthrough moment that hasn’t been in the cards. As much as it pains me to see him go, he needs to exit stage right.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is an ideal Republican candidate for 1996, but he’s out of place in the current political environment. In an attempt to loosen up in the recent debate, Pence managed multiple cringeworthy attempts at humor. More importantly, his recent political wins were in the Trump administration. Time to hang it up.

That leaves Gov. Ron DeSantis, former governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. If I can only keep two in the primary along with Trump, Ramaswamy is my last man off the stage.

Ramaswamy has a boatload of energy, but his policy positions demonstrate he’s not ready for prime time. From decriminalizing obstruction of justice to abandoning Taiwan after 2028, he’s more TikTok than Pennsylvania Avenue. He also needs to ditch the Kamala Harris nervous laugh when things aren’t going his way. This isn’t the last we’ve heard of him. I’d even give him the inside track of the current candidates on being Trump’s running mate should the former president run the table in the primary.

For much of the primary, I’ve seen DeSantis as the top challenger to Trump. He’s a rough proxy of Trump’s policy agenda without the legal baggage. He’s been serviceable in the debates even if he feels a bit staged and uncomfortable at times. Struggling to gain momentum, the Florida governor is Trump insurance should the former president’s campaign implode because of his legal woes.

With two debates down, Haley appears to be the best alternative to Trump and is currently the GOP candidate beating President Joe Biden by the largest margin. She has been the most coherent on policy, performed well in both debates, and she’s demonstrated empathy and thoughtfulness on the issue of abortion that is a present challenge for Republicans.

In a bit of a surprise during the last debate, Haley demonstrated a trait the rest of the field lacks: the ability to fight authentically. Like him or not, Trump is genuinely himself. As such, he viciously exposes the manicured, contrived politicians in his way with ease.

“Every time I hear you,” Haley quipped at Ramaswamy, “I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.” She meant it. While I don’t love the attack-mode style, it plays extremely well with the GOP base. More importantly, it’s the only way to hang with Trump in a future exchange. If the candidates can’t pull Trump into a battle, the primary race is all but over.

Interestingly, almost nobody in the Republican party watched whatever it was that Trump had to say in Michigan during his attempt to draw eyes away from his absence in Simi Valley. For a debate stage juggernaut like Trump, he has to be fuming at his consultants and attorneys who have clearly advised him to stay in environments he controls.

Trump’s primary run shouldn’t be a coronation. In the game of GOP candidate Survivor, Haley and DeSantis are the only two who could possibly draw Trump into the fray and give him a fight. Whether they’re able to outwit, outplay, and outlast the former president is another matter entirely.

More Cameron Smith columns:

Smith is a recovering political attorney with four boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He’s a partner in Triptych Media, a business strategy wonk, and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.