The GOP candidates have gathered in Vegas, and for the evening’s opening act, the four lowest-flying GOP candidates — polling a combined 2.7% — spoke mostly of war and the battle against ISIS. Former Sen. Rick Santorum flat out declared “We have entered World War III.”

In the final debate of 2015, with the Iowa caucus coming up in just six weeks — and rumors that Fox may not hold another “undercard” debate — the differences between Santorum, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Lindsay Graham and former Gov. George Pataki centered on tactics. The message each wanted to send: I’m the one who ought to be commander-in-chief.

Once again, Graham insisted American ground troops working with Arab allies was our only path to victory. Specifically, 10,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, 10,000 in Syria and he’ll have to talk to the generals to determine how many in Libya.

Graham took time to thank the 3,500 Muslims serving in our military, adding, “Your religion is not the enemy.” His message in the wake of Donald Trump’s call to keep Muslims from entering the country: “Leave the faith alone. Go after the radicals that kill us all.”

But Islam itself is an issue, Santorum argued. Not all Muslims are jihadists, he said, “but all jihadists are Muslims.”  We must recognize that Islam is more than a faith, it is a system of government, he said. Understanding the values within Islam is a key to victory. ISIS has declared a caliphate, for example. “You have to take land back from the caliphate and in the Islamic world that de-legitimizes … the caliphate.”

He suggested we do this with U.S. forces training fighters in Syria. “We’re not going to win that way, Rick,” Graham responded. “There is nobody left to train.”

On the issue of Syrian refugees, Huckabee, a former pastor, took umbrage at liberals who say it is the Christian thing to do, regardless of the dangers. He said he didn’t need a “lecture” from the same people who are always demanding the separation of church and state.

Pataki wasn’t only talking tough on terrorists. He also flashed testosterone toward Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “Putin is a bully,” he said, “and the most important and effective thing you can do to a bully is punch ’em in the face.”

So who won the undercard debate? Initial indications from The Wall Street Journal have Senator Lindsay Graham as the decided victor, with 64% saying he beat the field — but only 250 readers have voted.