Political observers are largely in agreement over who the big winners and losers were after last night's debate. Carly Fiorina made the most of her shot on the main stage, while Ben Carson seemed unprepared to seize his moment. Donald Trump looked sluggish and vulnerable while Jeb Bush and Chris Christie both eased supporters nerves with solid performances. So what impact can being declared a debate winner or loser have on a candidate? We can look to last month's contest in Cleveland for some clues…


Winning: No one stood out in the Cleveland debate the way Fiorina did last night. But Marco Rubio and John Kasich were largely seen as winners. However, Rubio's national polling average among Republicans, as compiled by Real Clear Politics, remained unchanged between the day after the first GOP debate and Wednesday. Kasich's support also remained relatively unchanged. The Ohio governor did spike in New Hampshire in the weeks following the debate, though it coincided with ad buys in the Granite State. Fiorina's performance will likely have a larger impact on her candidacy because she has generated so much attention from it. But the first showdown makes clear that winners can vary between pundits and GOP voters.
Losing: It just wasn't Trump's night. Carson seemed bored and passive. Both observations apply to the first and second debate, but did not have much impact on the polls. The real estate mogul remained on top while the retired neurosurgeon steadily gained on him, continuing the dominance of outsider candidates in the 2016 cycle.
And winning the undercard: Don't forget about Lindsey Graham! The South Carolina senator was largely seen as the winner of the early debate between the lowest-polling candidates with memorable one-liners and sharp attacks on both Democrats and rival GOP candidates. His performance drew comparisons to Fiorina's performance during the "happy hour" debate in August. That led to a fundraising boost for Fiorina, larger crowds on the campaign trail and, ultimately, a spot on stage at last night's prime-time debate. But that came after a lengthy battle with CNN over how polls should be used to determine which candidates made the final debate stage.