Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley strode onto the presidential debate stage in Iowa Wednesday night hoping to capitalize on recent momentum, bury Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and establish herself as the GOP’s major alternative to former President Donald Trump.
She and Mr. DeSantis immediately mixed it up, with Ms. Haley accusing her rival of lying about her record, and Mr. DeSantis saying she doesn’t have a political backbone.
“She caves,” Mr. DeSantis said. “When you need someone to stand and fight for you, you won’t be able to find her.”
Ms. Haley said Mr. DeSantis’s campaign is imploding and she’s the only alternative to Mr. Trump who’s running a nationwide campaign.
“He’s only mad about the donors because the donors used to be with him and they’re no longer with him,” she said of Mr. DeSantis, who accused Ms. Haley of kowtowing to wealthy supporters.
Ms. Haley said it’s time for Republicans to move on from the Trump era, saying it’s time for “a new generation of leadership” and accusing the former president of lacking “moral clarity.”
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For his part, Mr. DeSantis said Mr. Trump, despite big talk, failed to deliver for Republicans on major issues such as finishing the border wall.
“I’m the only one running that’s delivered on 100% of the promises I made,” he said, adding that he’s “beaten the left time and time again.”
The pair faced off at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, just days before Monday’s caucuses kick off the primary season. Mr. DeSantis reminded the audience that Ms. Haley recently praised New Hampshire voters for their habit of correcting Iowa’s caucus results. She said her remark was a “joke.”
They were the only two candidates on the stage for the debate, which aired on CNN. Frontrunner Mr. Trump skipped the debate, as he has all of the others in this primary season. Instead, he took part in a town hall aired by Fox News.
The debate was held just hours after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie suspended his campaign, leaving his small but potentially important bloc of Trump-skeptic voters searching for a new candidate to back, particularly in New Hampshire, where he had been concentrating his time.
Ms. Haley, who has been the most anti-Trump of the remaining major candidates, is hoping to capitalize on the newly slimmed-down field.
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Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also remain in the race, though they did not qualify for Wednesday’s debate.
Ms. Haley’s prospects have been on the rise in recent weeks, with one poll now showing her within single digits of Mr. Trump in New Hampshire. That has spawned new coverage and sparked hope in the hearts of some never-Trump voters, though the former president still dominates in polling in every other early primary state and in national polling, where he regularly laps the rest of the field combined.
That has left political analysts wondering how deeply into the primary season any of Mr. Trump’s challengers can last.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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