Fox News Power Rankings: The wild card and the outsiders of the 2024 GOP presidential primary

This is the second of a two-part series breaking down the Fox News Power Rankings ahead of the second 2024 GOP presidential debate. Read part one here.

Wild card

Governor Chris Christie is the wild card in this race. As this column has pointed out, there is a “non-Trump” lane in this primary, with 25% of likely voters saying they will not support the former president. 

Christie is the only candidate targeting those voters exclusively.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER, CHALLENGERS AND SECOND PLACE CANDIDATES

In New Hampshire, Christie continues to outperform relative to national and other state polls. If he picks up delegates there, he could be one of a smaller group of candidates who are still part of the conversation going in to Super Tuesday.

Outsiders 

Gov. Doug Burgum remains in 8th but moves down to the “outsiders” tier, and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson stays in 9th. Neither candidate gained momentum after the first debate, and it’s not yet apparent that they will qualify for the second.

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Former Rep. Will Hurd remains in 10th, with Larry Elder moving up to 11th after Mayor Francis Suarez suspended his campaign. 

Businessman Perry Johnson, who meets some criteria to appear at the second debate, joins the rankings in last place.

The second debate airs next Wednesday

FOX Business and Univision will host the second Republican debate next Wednesday, September 27, at 9PM ET, from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. 

Your moderators are Fox’s Dana Perino and Stuart Varney, and Univision’s Ilia Calderón. 

Live coverage begins at 8PM ET on Fox Business Network and 8:30PM ET on Fox News Channel. The debate will simulcast on both networks, along with Univision, and streaming partner Rumble.