Fox News host Laura Ingraham explains why "America First" candidates are crushing it in the GOP primary race on "The Ingraham Angle." 

LAURA INGRAHAM: It looks pretty simple. The two people doing the best in the polls before the debate, obviously after Trump, were DeSantis and Ramaswamy — a center stage, and after the debate, according to the Washington Post's new poll, the two candidates still doing the best are the ones who agree with the base on the critical issues. DeSantis, according to the Post, is at 29. Ramaswamy at 26. Haley at 15. Pence at 7. The two populists, DeSantis and Vivek, combined get 55%. Now, this is obviously not a cult we're talking about. It's obviously grounded. This belief in the populist ideal is grounded in policy preferences: tough on China, skeptical on Ukraine, strong on the border, pro-working class, tough on woke corporations. 

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So again, this is where we are. Trump's in first place about to be processed in the Fulton County Jail. Then a governor who agrees with Trump policies is in second place. Then a businessman who agrees with Trump policies is in third place. DeSantis and Ramaswamy combined in that poll beat all of the other six on stage combined.  

So, a lot of pre- and post-debate analysis is missing a very basic point: Ever since Donald Trump came down that golden escalator in 2015, we've been having the same debate on the economy, the border, foreign policy — and the people keep telling us what they want and the establishment keeps ignoring them. 

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So, wake up, everyone. There is no battle for the soul of the Republican Party as we often hear from the old guard. There's about 75% of the public who are "America First" conservatives. They think the spectacle in Atlanta is a joke and that's what they're talking to their friends about, but everyone else represented by McConnell, Nikki Haley, Chamber of Commerce Coalition, maybe about 25%. So, the bottom line, if you want to be the nominee, you need to agree with Trump on border, economic policy, China policy, reforming the civil service and judges.  

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