DES MOINES, Iowa – Debate drama has overtaken the race for the Republican nomination as contenders move to New Hampshire from Iowa.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday she will only appear on stage with GOP front-runner Donald Trump or President Biden — not just Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — as Trump rivals lick their wounds following their defeat to the former president in Hawkeye state.
“We’ve had five great debates this campaign,” Haley said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has sidelined them all. He had nowhere to hide. The next debate I have is either with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”
DeSantis quickly fired back, saying Haley “is afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer tough questions like how she got rich off of Boeing after giving them millions of taxpayer dollars as governor of South Carolina.
“The reality is he’s not running for the nomination, he’s running to be Trump’s Vice President,” DeSantis added in his statement at X. “I will not reject New Hampshire voters like Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitment. I can’t wait -looking forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.”
Trump, Haley and DeSantis are all eligible to participate in the Granite State’s two debates ahead of the nation’s first Jan. 23 primary.
The first debate, which will be hosted by ABC News, is scheduled for Thursday, while CNN will hold a forum on Sunday. Both will take place at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.
Haley and DeSantis previously paired up on Jan. 10 at Drake University in Des Moines.
Ron DeSantis speaks at Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque, Iowa, on January 14, 2024. JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Trump, 77, has skipped all five debates so far, citing his big poll lead.
Biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race Monday night and said he would join Trump in campaigning in the Granite State on Tuesday.
DeSantis made his first stop in South Carolina on Tuesday before planning to travel to New Hampshire for a CNN town hall. The visit to the first major state in the South is an indication that the Florida governor intends to compete with Haley on her home turf, where she polled a distant second behind Trump.
DeSantis’ campaign has repeatedly highlighted his 74 endorsements by elected officials in South Carolina compared to Haley’s 14.
Both DeSantis and Haley face a tough road to wresting the GOP nomination from Trump after he beat DeSantis by nearly 30 points in Iowa, the most lopsided margin of victory in the modern history of the Republican caucus, since 1976.
However, both vowed to continue the struggle.
Nikki Haley arrives to address supporters gathered for a caucus night event at a hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa, on January 15, 2024. JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“It’s been a long journey for representation,” DeSantis told ABC News. “These early states are proportional, so we care about that. We’re running in Nevada against Donald Trump, Nikki Haley is not, she’s not registered for the caucus. I think you need to gather representation.”
The Florida governor has previously said he hopes to “win” in Iowa, where his campaign has focused most of its time and resources.
After a distant second-place finish, DeSantis reframed the race as having given him and Trump the only “two tickets” out of Iowa.
Meanwhile, Haley’s campaign argued that Trump would have a tougher time in the next two key states.
“The race is now moving into less Trump-friendly territory. And the field of candidates is effectively down to two, with only Trump and Nikki Haley enjoying significant support in New Hampshire and South Carolina. That was never the case in the 2016 nominating contest, when a larger field allowed Trump to win multiple primaries by a plurality rather than a majority,” Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney said in a statement.
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Haley polled at 29.3% in New Hampshire, compared to Trump’s 43.5%. Before former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (11.3% support average) was unseated, DeSantis was polling in fourth place at 6.5%.
Votes may change based on Iowa results. In a New Hampshire poll released Tuesday, the American Research Group — the most consistently pro-Haley pollster — showed her and Trump tied with 40% support among likely Republican primary voters.
DeSantis, meanwhile, polled at 4%, tied with the now-departed Ramaswamy and behind “Not Sure,” which is how 9% of respondents listed themselves.
In South Carolina, Trump has an average support of 52.0%, Haley is at 21.8% and DeSantis has 11.0%, according to RCP.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
