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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (NewsNation) — The fourth Republican presidential debate centered on the viability of the four candidates on stage to mount a serious threat to front-running former President Donald Trump. You can read NewsNation’s full recap here.
The candidates each took turns attacking the others’ credibility on dinner table issues and personal grounds. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was an identity-politicker too corrupt to trust. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the other candidates were too afraid of offending Trump to trust in a room with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There were moments of policy discussion, such as DeSantis calling on universities to back student loans, Christie cautioning against government getting involved in gender-affirming care (which inspired a quick rebuke from his opponents), Haley rejecting calls for bombing Iran in response to the Oct. 7 violence in Israel, Ramaswamy calling for the strong defense of Taiwan against China and the candidates agreeing quick action on the border is needed.
Below is our live blog for the debate, featuring regular updates and analysis from a team of journalists from NewsNation, our sister publication The Hill and The Dispatch.
Providing expert analysis are David M. Drucker, senior writer for The Dispatch, and Jesse Byrnes, senior editor for The Hill. They will add regular political insight and analysis throughout the debate. You’ll see additional updates from Tulsi Kamath, managing editor of digital for NewsNation, about the scene in Alabama, and regular summaries of the questions and candidate responses and additional context from NewsNation Digital Producers Tyler Wornell, Steph Whiteside and Damita Menezes.
We’ll also follow your commentary through social media about tonight’s debate. We’ll be watching the hashtag: #GOPDebate. Use it as you post about tonight’s debate, and we may incorporate your comments into our coverage.
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RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tells Leland Vittert the GOP isn’t a party exclusively focused on grievances.
In the last debate, Vivek Ramaswamy criticized McDaniel, accusing the party of losing elections under her leadership and calling for accountability.
A source close to Chris Christie confirms he is expected to emphasize during the debate the dangers he sees Donald Trump poses and will criticize the other candidates for not doing the same. Christie is expected to specifically mention Trump’s comments last night.
Former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer says voters want to see if the candidates have style and are fighters to take on “the woke establishment.”
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen will be in attendance at the debate, which he said is a “historical” and “special” moment for the state and the University of Alabama, his alma mater.
“I just want to take it in with my eyes,” Allen told NewsNation before the debate. “We’re very fortunate to have it in Tuscaloosa.”
It’s the first presidential primary debate to be held in Alabama.
Photo by Mike Ewing
While four candidates are taking the stage for the fourth Republican debate, the elephant not in the room is former President Donald Trump, still the clear front-runner for the 2024 nomination.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have been battling for second place, trailed by biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Those who fear Trump’s ability to win in a general election as he continues to face mounting legal troubles have suggested a consolidated field is the best chance for another candidate to garner enough support. Others have suggested the candidates are competing for a different role – Trump’s next vice president.
Haley has gained support after her performance in other debates, racking up endorsements and funding, but she continues to battle with DeSantis for the No. 2 spot and so far neither has come close to catching up with Trump.
Chris Cuomo says this might be the last chance for the candidates to use a big stage to make an impact on voters.
With less than an hour to go before the debate, people are heading to their seats at the University of Alabama.
NewsNation’s Leland Vittert and Chris Cuomo are highlighting what to expect at tonight’s debate.
The fourth GOP debate of the year is NewsNation’s first as a network. Nexstar President Perry Sook says it’s “a big day, not only in the history of Nexstar but certainly of NewsNation.”
As we settle in for the fourth GOP presidential debate, here’s what I’m watching for tonight:
- Can Haley keep up her momentum?
The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador has consistently ticked up in the polls through the first three on-stage clashes. She’s also drawn considerable interest from donors and the national media.
The big question tonight: Can she keep her momentum going heading into January and the first two early-state contests?
She’s hoping to be competitive in Iowa and have a decisive showing in New Hampshire before going head-to-head with Trump in her home state of South Carolina. But she’ll need to continue parrying attacks on stage while shifting the focus toward Trump. - Does DeSantis do anything to change the trajectory of the race?
The Florida governor had a massive electoral win a little over a year ago in The Sunshine State. But he’s struggled to cut into Trump’s lead in the GOP primary and instead finds himself defending his claim as the top alternative to Trump in the race.DeSantis has been challenging the former president to a one-on-one debate since late September, without success, but has stepped up his rhetoric in recent days. Does he shift gears tonight or stick with his current slow-and-steady approach? - How hard do the candidates hit Trump?
Each of those on stage tonight have drawn contrasts with Trump — some much clearer than others — but all of them recognize attacking the former president has its limits. Worse for them, it can potentially backfire hard.
The latest opening for potential attack: Trump’s insistence in a town hall Tuesday that he won’t be a “dictator” if elected to a second term — “except for Day 1.”
Candidates on stage will have to decide whether to unload sharper barbs on the elephant in the room or bank on ginning up enthusiasm among his supporters with attacks on President Biden and Democrats. - Are there any breakout moments for Christie or Ramaswamy?
Few in the race have had the same pugnaciousness when it comes to attacking Trump as Christie. The former New Jersey governor is also running last in polls of those on stage.
Should Christie train his fire on one of the candidates standing next to him tonight, it could make a difference on who is No. 2 or 3 heading into Iowa and New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, while Ramaswamy shot up in polls to third nationally after bursting onto the scene earlier this year, his stock has fallen considerably amid several bruising debates and a bevy of attacks against his argumentative style, command of issues and policy positions.
Like Christie, though, the entrepreneur has the potential to take someone else down a notch—or at least keep their fire trained on him and not Trump.
In this final and potentially pivotal Republican debate of 2023 — and possibly final debate before the January 15 Iowa caucuses — here are the moments, exchanges, fisticuffs I’m watching for:
- Will Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis finally, truly, mix it up, reflective of the back-and-forth taking place between their campaigns in recent weeks? We’re used to Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy squabbling, and Haley and DeSantis have had a couple of sharp-edged exchanges in past debates. But they have never really gone to war the way some thought might happen after Haley shot up in the polls and became a true threat to DeSantis in the race to emerge as the consensus alternative to Donald Trump. Will we finally see this prize fight tonight? If we do, and if one candidate emerges as the clear winner, that could matter.
- Will Haley and Chris Christie mix it up? Earlier this week, my colleagues and I at The Dispatch reported that Haley donors have approached Christie donors to ask them if they might be willing to encourage the former New Jersey governor to drop out of the race. The concern is that Christie could take votes away from Haley in New Hampshire, where she hopes to set up a more direct confrontation with Trump after, hopefully, performing well in Iowa. Haley and Christie compete for the same voters, and Haley will need all the help she can get if she’s going to have a chance to pull off an upset. Hence, some of her donors are trying to find a way to entice Christie out of the race beforehand. Christie is well aware of this effort, and it will be curious if that impacts tonight’s debate, especially given his penchant for pugnacity.
- How will the candidates handle TRUMP? The former president is skipping this debate, just as he bypassed the previous three. But he’s in control of this race, and this is potentially the last chance (for a while, at least) for his competitors to make a case against him before a national audience. Will they go out of their way to do so? If the moderators force their hand by asking about Trump, particularly about his multiple criminal indictments, will they take on the former president, albeit in absentia, or will they do what they usually do, squirm and deflect and refuse to answer the question? In this regard, the spotlight will really be on DeSantis and Haley. Christie attacks Trump every chance he gets, while Ramaswamy is the former president’s chief defender on this and almost every other matter.
- DeSantis has something to lose; Haley has something to gain. For DeSantis, he can ill afford to turn in a bad or lackluster performance this close to the Iowa caucuses and with so much turmoil swirling around his campaign. His debate performances have improved consistently, so there’s not necessarily a reason to assume he’ll fall flat. But it’s also true that he’s under a new kind of pressure. Haley, meanwhile, has used stellar performances in each debate to fuel momentum that has led to an influx of big donors, big donor money and grassroots enthusiasm in the early primary states. Another stellar performance could up her trajectory yet again. Will she capitalize?
- This might sound obvious; too obvious. But it bears emphasizing that the previous three debates did not alter the 2024 Republican primary as it relates to Trump and his very large and rather durable lead. So, is this the moment that allows one of his competitors to emerge as the consensus alternative to Trump, setting up an opportunity to truly challenge him for the nomination? Or at least to get a big push down that road? That’s what matters most, and no matter what else we see this evening, no matter how substantive, how entertaining or how memorable, that’s ultimately all that matters.
Elizabeth Vargas, the Peabody award-winning anchor of NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Megyn Kelly, host of “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM and Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon, will moderate.
“The Hill’s” Blake Burman provides a sneak peek of the stage they will be moderating on.
A senior adviser for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told NewsNation, “We expect everyone to go after him” tonight.
DeSantis’ camp thinks the governor’s debate with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week has helped prepare him for tonight, especially since this is the smallest number of candidates so far.
DeSantis heads back to Iowa tomorrow for several days of campaigning. You can expect most of his attention between now and the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15 to be in Iowa, although he will spend some time in the other early states.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s adviser also told NewsNation she does expect the other three candidates to attack her because of her growth in the polls following the previous debates.
The growth in the polls “puts a target on her back,” the adviser says. If she is attacked, “she is going to hit back” just as hard.
The adviser says Haley has not prepped in any different way than the other debates.
Separately, the campaign confirms its New Hampshire state director has left.
Haley will spend a lot of time in Iowa in the coming weeks as the Iowa caucuses are near but also in the other early states.
Audience members are being let into the debate venue, the Frank Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa.
As four of the candidates for the GOP primary nomination take the stage at tonight’s Republican debate, voters will be looking to know where they stand on the top challenges facing the U.S. domestically and abroad.
The top issue for GOP voters has been border security, with NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ polling finding 51.5% of Republicans think it should be the first issue addressed if Republicans gain control of the White House and Congress.
Inflation and the economy have consistently ranked as top concerns with voters, with 29.8% of Republicans saying addressing inflation should be a top priority.
Abortion has also been a consistent issue for candidates, with 45.6% supporting the Republican Party’s approach to the issue. While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have expressed support for abortion bans as early as six weeks, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have both said they would not support federal restrictions on abortion unless states reached a consensus.
On the issues of foreign policy, voters will also be looking to see how candidates respond to continued support for Ukraine as well as aid to Israel in the Israel-Hamas conflict. China is also a top concern, with 56.3% of Republican voters saying the country is the biggest threat facing the U.S.