The third Republican presidential primary debate in Miami is shaping up to be a potentially pivotal moment for Nikki Haley as she attempts to leapfrog Ron DeSantis in the race to become the most formidable challenger to Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and current Florida governor are on a collision course that will be amplified before a national audience on Wednesday night when they appear alongside each other without the GOP front-runner. Even the campaign of South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott predicted Haley and DeSantis \u201cwill devolve into a slugfest.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a stage tailor made for a confrontation that\u2019s been festering for weeks and was accentuated by a recent poll <\/a>showing the two deadlocked in second place in Iowa, a marker of Haley\u2019s ascent this fall following two strong debates. <\/a><\/p>\n Republicans \u2014 from national operatives to Iowans \u2014 believe another ace debate performance from Haley could provide additional jetfuel to her momentum in the first-in-the-nation caucus state that is set to kick off the voting process in just over two months.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s in the best position for making a run at being a viable [Trump] alternative today? It\u2019s really a DeSantis-Haley thing,\u201d said John Steinman, an Iowa-based Republican consultant. \u201cHaley\u2019s there because of the debates, DeSantis is there because of the organization and the pre-candidate portion when he was riding pretty high \u2026 Haley\u2019s trendline is obviously better.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday Haley\u2019s campaign pushed out a memo urging the media to \u201cstart talking about a two-person race, one man and one woman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn Iowa, DeSantis is a sinking ship, and Haley is a rising one,\u201d wrote Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney. \u201cEven if DeSantis were to do well in Iowa, which is a big \u2018if\u2019 given his current decline, he is in such a weak position in New Hampshire and South Carolina that it doesn\u2019t matter. He has no end game.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark Penn, who was Hillary Clinton\u2019s political strategist in 2008, agreed that Haley\u2019s trajectory is an urgent threat to DeSantis. In addition to losing ground in Iowa, DeSantis is trailing Haley by single digits in New Hampshire and by double-digits<\/a> in her homestate of South Carolina.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is the only candidate showing momentum \u2026 If she comes in second in Iowa, Ron DeSantis is out at that point. It\u2019s a two-person race,\u201d Penn told the Free Expression podcast.<\/p>\n But DeSantis\u2019 campaign argues that if Haley was truly seen as a bigger threat, she\u2019d be incurring more attacks from the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a two-man race. Team Trump knows it \u2014 that\u2019s why they\u2019re spending over $1 million this week alone to attack DeSantis in Iowa despite proclaiming the primary was over in August,\u201d said DeSantis campaign spokesman Bryan Griffin.<\/p>\n Haley and DeSantis and their respective campaigns have increasingly targeted each other over an array of issues, from fracking to transgender bathroom laws<\/a> and ties to China<\/a>. But both camps are girding for a pointed clash on U.S. foreign policy on Wednesday night, as Israel continues its military assault on Gaza and Congress wrestles with allocating billions more dollars in aid Ukraine\u2019s defense against Russia.<\/p>\n Whereas Haley has aggressively advocated for an interventionist U.S. posture in foreign conflicts, DeSantis embodies a more nationalist ideology that is dubious of sending American tax dollars for protracted wars.<\/p>\nForeign policy divide <\/h3>\n