How to watch tonight’s Republican presidential debate between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are set to face off in the first one-on-one debate of the 2024 election cycle, while former President Donald Trump participates in a town hall at the same time.
The competing Wednesday night events in Iowa come just five days before the state’s leadoff presidential caucuses and as the candidates are issuing last-minute appeals to voters to turn out for the Jan. 15 contest, which could be the coldest caucus night ever.
The Haley-DeSantis event will be CNN’s first debate of the election season. Fox News will host Trump on Wednesday night after holding town halls with Haley and DeSantis earlier in the week.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t meet the qualifications for the debate and said he would be participating in a podcast hosted by Tim Pool instead.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also didn’t qualify, is planning to announce that he’s leaving the presidential race during an event in New Hampshire on Wednesday before the debate, according to an AP source.
How to watch the fifth GOP presidential debate
The debate will start at 6 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday. It’s being moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
CNN is carrying the debate live on its broadcast network, as well as on CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Max. It’s the first debate of the 2024 election cycle that CNN is hosting.
The setting for the fifth GOP debate is Des Moines’ Drake University, which has played host to presidential debates in each of the four-year cycles since 2007.
The debate comes just five days before the Iowa caucuses kick off the 2024 voting calendar.
Instead of joining his rivals, former President Donald Trump is participating in a town hall on Fox News, airing at the same time and taking place about 2 miles from the debate site.
Haley and DeSantis were both scheduled to take part in their own Fox News town halls earlier this week in Des Moines. The rivalry between the two has only increased as they vie to be the leading GOP alternative to Trump.
DeSantis has said he expects to win Iowa despite trailing far behind Trump in polls. He has portrayed Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Trump’s U.N. ambassador, as a puppet of wealthy donors and someone who has flip-flopped on key issues.
Haley, who hopes to edge out the better-organized DeSantis in Iowa, has accused him of misrepresenting her record, especially on taxes, and of falsely portraying himself as tough on China.
To qualify for CNN’s Iowa debate, candidates needed to register at least 10% support in three separate polls, either nationally or in Iowa.
What’s up next?
There are already other debates on the books in the next state to cast GOP votes: New Hampshire, on Jan. 23.
ABC has announced plans for a debate on Jan. 18 at Saint Anselm College. CNN also intends to hold another debate on Jan. 21 at New England College.
Candidates who finish in one of the top three spots in the Iowa caucuses will be invited to participate in CNN’s New Hampshire debate, as well as those who meet the network’s polling qualification, which includes a 10% polling threshold in New Hampshire.
Haley and DeSantis have spent much of the Republican presidential primary flanked by lower-polling rivals, so the stakes are high for the former U.N. ambassador and the Florida governor at Wednesday’s debate.
The moment is especially important for Haley, a politician long known for her disciplined approach to messaging but who has recently suffered a series of gaffes.
Meanwhile, DeSantis left an important item in Florida when he flew back to Iowa after delivering his State of the State address Tuesday.
“I actually do have a winter coat,” DeSantis told a construction contractors convention in Des Moines on Wednesday. “And I forgot it. I left it at home.”
The temperatures for Iowa were below freezing and headed to below zero through Monday’s caucuses. DeSantis told the crowd that his staff was hustling his coat from Tallahassee before he headed up to even-chillier northwest Iowa on Thursday.
“I think I’ll need much more than that,” he said. “I think I’m going to need the earmuffs and all that stuff.”