Elections

Republican Primary Debate in Iowa: Live Updates

Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley at the Republican debate hosted by CNN at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, January 10, 2024. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley face off Wednesday night for the final GOP primary debate before the Iowa caucuses. For the first time, they won’t be sharing the stage with Chris Christie (who just dropped out) and Vivek Ramaswamy. Donald Trump, as with past debates, is not participating. The event in Des Moines is hosted by CNN. Follow along for live updates and analysis from the NR team:
Dominic Pino

DeSantis’s record on teachers’ unions is strong. He signed a bill requiring public-sector unions to hold recertification elections if they can’t get 60 percent of all workers covered by a collective-bargaining agreement to pay dues. The Miami-Dade teachers’ union, one of the most progressive in the state, failed to reach that threshold and will face a recertification election.

Dan McLaughlin

Haley is now pandering to Iowa on ethanol, hitting DeSantis from the left on entitlements. Depressing.

Jeffrey Blehar

Haley always plays poorly talking about how great her donors are. The words “my donors” should never pass her lips again if at all possible. More to the point, she plays poorly attacking DeSantis.

Haley opens by attacking DeSantis. DeSantis opens by attacking Haley. The elephant doesn’t even have to enter the room anymore; he didn’t attend any of the debates.

Jim Geraghty

No one’s taking a drink every time Haley mentions “DeSantislies.com”, right? At this rate you’ll need a new liver in an hour or so.

Noah Rothman

ready, this debate has devolved into a threadbare recitation of both campaign’s opposition research.

Dan McLaughlin

Jeff is right. DeSantis isn’t attacking Trump here, and neither is Haley.

Dominic Pino

DeSantis has gotten much better at these debates since they began. Smoother delivery, less awkward. But I sort of doubt that he has kept “100 percent” of his promises, as he claimed to.

Dan McLaughlin

DeSantis opens with a desperate plea for voters to care that he actually has done things Republicans want, and will do the same. Then he pivots to some cheap-seat pandering about Haley as some sort of faux Republican who likes Hillary and hates Iowans.

Jeffrey Blehar

DeSantis answers the “why should we vote for you” question by talking about his superiority to Nikki Haley rather than Donald Trump. It’s a mistake, and a predictable one.

Jim Geraghty

RIght out of the gate, DeSantis comes out swinging, saying that Haley wants to serve her donors, and bringing up her comment in New Hampshire that the Granite State corrects the wrong choice of Iowa. Allegedly this debate is going to go on for two hours, and you have to wonder how many Iowans and how many viewers at home want to watch the full two hours — so maybe both candidates will want to get their best swings in early.

NR Staff comprises members of the National Review editorial and operational teams.
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