By Noah Bierman Los Angeles Times/TNS
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Here are five things that happened:

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TRUMP TOOK FIRE FOR BEING A NO-SHOW

Some of the candidates on stage took a few shots at Trump, mostly for not showing up. But voters who tuned in to Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network or Univision to watch the debate did not hear much about the former president’s string of criminal indictments, his attempts to overturn the 2020 election or his threats to use the White House to punish his enemies were he reelected.

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NO ONE SEIZED THE MANTLE OF NO. 1 TRUMP ALTERNATIVE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once Trump’s top rival, failed to stand out, showing only slightly more verve than he did in the initial debate last month.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who won praise after the first debate, did the most to assert herself this time around as well.

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THE END OF OPTIMISM

Voters heard about failing students, out-of-control crime, fentanyl deaths, Mexican drug cartels and the rise in transgender identification, which was portrayed as a “mental health disorder” afflicting the nation’s youth.

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REPUBLICANS ARE DIVIDED OVER HOW TO ADDRESS THE AUTOWORKERS’ STRIKE

The Republican Party has embraced a right-wing form of populism in the Trump era, but that has not translated into support for labor unions. No candidate sided with the United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers, but the rhetoric of some candidates showed the GOP is wary of offending the workers.

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TRUMP SEEMS TO UNDERSTAND THE STAKES

As his opponents debated in California on Wednesday night, he was in Michigan, warning that the auto industry was “being assassinated” by electric vehicles.