DeSantis and Haley clash at debate after Christie bows out of race

The two rivals have engaged in an increasingly rancorous battle ahead of Monday's first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, with little time left to halt Trump's march toward the nomination. The former president had the support of 49% of Republicans in a nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, far ahead of Haley in second place at 12%.

Florida Governor

Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador

Nikki Haley came out swinging at the outset of Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, as the two candidates sought to emerge as the clear alternative to Donald Trump just days before the campaign's first votes are cast.

Asked to make their cases to the Republican voters of Iowa, who will choose their preferred nominee on Monday, DeSantis and Haley accused each other of lying about their records. "We don't need another mealy-mouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear just to try to get your vote, then to get an office and to do her donors' bidding," DeSantis said.

In response, Haley touted a website her campaign has created to document what she said were dozens of DeSantis lies. The two rivals have engaged in an increasingly rancorous battle ahead of Monday's first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, with little time left to halt Trump's march toward the nomination.

The former president had the support of 49% of Republicans in a nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, far ahead of Haley in second place at 12%. For the fifth time, Trump skipped the debate and instead was holding a Fox News town hall nearby in Des Moines.

The debate took place just hours after former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a fierce Trump critic, announced an end to his own presidential campaign after drawing little support from Republican voters. "I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win," Christie told the audience at a town hall in Windham, faulting his rivals for failing to confront Trump more directly.

Haley and DeSantis both offered only muted criticism of the frontrunner during the debate's opening segment. DeSantis listed several examples of campaign promises that he said Trump did not keep: having Mexico pay for a southern border wall, reducing corruption in Washington and lowering the federal debt.

Haley said she wished Trump were on hand to defend his record. "I agree with a lot of his policies, but his way is not my way," she said. "I don't have vengeance, I don't have vendettas, I don't take things personally."

'LAST AND BEST CHANCE' Two polls released on Tuesday showed Haley cutting Trump's lead in the second state due to pick its Republican candidate, New Hampshire, where a primary will be held on Jan. 23. DeSantis is trailing in fourth place there, polling averages show, while he and Haley are essentially tied for second in Iowa.

Beating each other out for second place in Iowa will be critical in their efforts to turn the race into a one-on-one matchup against Trump. The Republican nominee is set to face President Joe Biden in November's election, where the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling puts Trump and Biden tied at 35%.

"The debate will be their last and best chance to tell Iowa caucus-goers why they deserve to be the alternative to former President Trump and why they should have a head-to-head shot at him," said Jimmy Centers, an Iowa-based Republican strategist unaffiliated with a campaign. Trump's Iowa campaign has been far more organized and heavily staffed than his 2016 effort, when he placed second in the Midwestern state to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.

Trump mostly has avoided smaller, more intimate gatherings in bars and school gyms, the traditional staple of Iowa campaigns, opting instead to deploy allies to hold such events on his behalf while he headlines large rallies. DeSantis, meanwhile, is banking his campaign on a strong showing in Iowa. He has visited all 99 counties and has been wooing evangelical Christian voters, a powerful voting bloc in the state.

Haley has pitched voters in Iowa on her more pragmatic approach to issues such as abortion, and on her hawkish foreign policy, a stance at odds with the more isolationist Trump and DeSantis.