DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, Republican rivals, were vying to position themselves as the main alternative to frontrunner Donald Trump just a few days before the start of the presidential primary race in Iowa.
From their first head-to-head debate, here is a key takeaway:
CANDIDATES ATTACK EACH OTHER, GO EASY ON TRUMP
If there were any doubts regarding the race for the Republican presidential nomination, the debate’s initial attacks by Haley and DeSantis dispelled them.
At the prompting to critique Trump, Haley and DeSantis instead turned their attacks on each other, with only a few fleeting jabs at the current leader.
DeSantis labeled Haley as a “mealy mouthed” politician who is tied to wealthy donors. In response, Haley accused DeSantis of lying about her record and highlighted a new campaign website aimed at refuting those allegations.
“His campaign is disintegrating,” Haley said of DeSantis’s bid.
DeSantis directed voters to his own website that criticizes Haley’s record.
“We don’t need a candidate who is going to look down on Middle America,” DeSantis commented, drawing a parallel between her and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The two candidates are nearly neck and neck in Iowa, where the first-in-the-nation nominating contest will take place on Monday in the competition to face Democratic President Joe Biden in November.
(Reporting by Tim Reid, editing by Deepa Babington)
