One final GOP presidential debate before Iowa caucuses. Here’s how to watch
It’s the final showdown before the first election event of the season.
Former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are set to face off in their final debate Wednesday night in Iowa before the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.
The Republican front-runner, former President Trump, will skip the debate as he has in the past, instead opting for a prime-time town hall with Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.
CNN will host Wednesday’s debate at Drake University in Des Moines. Anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate, according to the network, which will air the event at 9 p.m. Eastern on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Max.
“We are honored to continue playing a central role in the democratic process at Drake University,” Marty Martin, the school’s president, said in a statement. “Des Moines and Drake have long been a hub for political and civic engagement on the national stage, and we are excited to carry on that tradition leading into the 2024 election, inviting our students, our community and thousands of visitors to engage in presidential politics.”
Trump’s town hall will air at 9 p.m. on the Fox News channel.
The former president is not doing any of the things normally required to win the early state’s GOP primary contest, which he lost in 2016. But that might not matter.
Haley and DeSantis are each fighting to come out on top Monday, when Republicans in Iowa head to caucuses. Although the state typically sees low turnout for its evening election event, the Iowa caucuses are closely watched as a harbinger for the remainder of the election season.
DeSantis has poured resources into winning the Iowa caucuses, last month completing a “full Grassley” — the term, named after Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), for a presidential hopeful who visits each of the state’s 99 counties.
Haley, a distant third-place contender, has steadily risen in the polls following her performance in GOP debates last fall. Still, with Haley at 15.8% and DeSantis at 17.2%, both candidates trail Trump, who enjoys 51.3% support among Iowans, according to the polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.
Haley — who climbed to 29.9% support in New Hampshire polling behind Trump, at 42.4% — has come under attack recently for her comment that New Hampshire “corrects” the Iowa vote.
“You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it,” Haley said at a New Hampshire campaign event. “And then my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home.”
New Hampshire is hosting its primary election Jan. 23 — breaking with the Democratic National Committee’s decision to make South Carolina the first Democratic primary state. As a result, President Biden will not appear on the New Hampshire ballot and instead will wait for South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Feb. 3.
CNN will host another debate between Haley and DeSantis on Jan. 21 at New England College in New Hampshire.
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