CNBC Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

Jindal has fairly traditional credentials for the nomination and was once considered a rising star of the party. So, you could make the best case for him. Still we were pretty skeptical when he entered the race given how crowded the field is. Santorum’s interesting in that he’s a holdover from 2012 — and yet is doing quite a bit worse this year (although note that his surge came late four years ago). That argues against the idea that this is some sort of especially weak GOP field.

Nate, Are you surprised any of these candidates are here? Did you expect any of them to do better than they are?

In talking about Social Security, Lindsey Graham supported changing the program based on means testing. Today, retirement is a fraught space. The National Retirement Risk Index, based on data from the Federal Reserve, found that among people 50 to 59, the number of “at risk” households (for running low on cash during their golden years) rose from 35 percent in 2004 to 45 percent in 2013.