Washington | If points of agreement among contenders in Thursday’s (AEST) opening Republican candidate debate are anything to go by, the party’s next nominee will be an anti-abortion, Donald Trump sympathising, China hawk hungry to cut government spending and take a position in the gender wars.

In the marathon two-hour debate, Vivek Ramaswamy’s momentum in recent polls and radical policy ideas made him the prime target in attacks from rivals including former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former vice president Mike Pence, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.