CBS Republican Debate: Live Coverage

Yes, I would think that expanding Medicaid may hurt Kasich in this primary. A 2014 YouGov poll found that just 35 percent of Republicans were for expanding Medicaid. On the other hand, 55 percent of Republicans were opposed.

John Kasich, who ran explicitly as a moderate in New Hampshire and who is defending his expansion of Medicaid tonight, is not a terribly natural fit for South Carolina. But with an open primary, the state’s electorate isn’t quite as conservative as you might think. In 2012, 32 percent of Republican voters in South Carolina identified as moderate or liberal, placing it exactly halfway in between Iowa (17 percent) and New Hampshire (47 percent). CORRECTION (10:14 p.m.): An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that Kasich defended his expansion of Medicare in Ohio. He expanded Medicaid, not Medicare.

I’m stuck comparing two very different men: Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza who led the GOP pack in October 2011, and Ben Carson, who also once led the Republican race, but whose poll numbers fell quickly after he fumbled a response to a debate question about the terrorist attacks in Paris. Carson’s poll numbers are now languishing in the single digits; he’s had a series of staff shake-ups; he was rumored to be dropping out but has not yet. So in two election cycles, black Republican candidates have peaked early and then fallen far. The question is why? Is there a desire in the GOP electorate for a more diverse field? I don’t have the answer, but you can’t avoid the question.