Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley called each other liars and attacked each other’s leadership qualities Wednesday in their first one-on-one debate and last chance to impress voters before Monday’s Iowa caucuses.

They all think they have the best chance of wresting the Republican nomination from former President Trump, who has a big lead in the polls and has refused to participate in the debates.

Monday’s caucuses kick off a series of nominating contests that will determine the GOP standard bearer. New Hampshire will hold the nation’s first primary on Jan. 23, residents of Nevada and South Carolina will vote next month, and Super Tuesday is less than eight weeks away from holding caucuses or primaries in more than a dozen states, including California. Despite facing 91 felony charges and attempting to overturn the 2020 election, Trump remains the frontrunner in every poll for the Republican nomination.

Haley and DeSantis feuded over foreign policy, legislative changes and their respective gubernatorial credentials. But mostly they argued about who was the biggest liar.

She has a criminal record, she makes statements, DeSantis said of Haley, the former governor of South Carolina. And I think part of the problem with her candidacy is that she’s under scrutiny: She has a ballistic podiatry problem where she’s shooting herself in the foot every day.”

Haley repeatedly called DeSantis desperate and rolled her eyes as he attacked her. She also repeatedly drew attention to the Florida governor’s high campaign spending

and mediocre opinion polls

.

If you can’t manage a campaign, how are you going to manage a country? she said, noting that DeSantis had spent more on private planes than on television advertising. If leadership is about getting things done, how did you waste $150 million on your campaign and fall in the polls?

Here are some key takeaways from the two-hour debate, which took place at Drake University in Des Moines and aired on CNN:

Haley and DeSantis go head to head and DeSantis pounds Newsom’s California

The debate was likely the last big chance for DeSantis and Haley to sway Republicans in the Hawkeye State before voters converge on Monday in subzero temperatures to choose their candidate. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out of the race just hours before the debate began, giving his supporters a chance to reassess his two former rivals.

The candidates kicked off the debate by repeatedly calling each other liars.

Haley unveiled a new campaign website that captured inaccurate statements DeSantis had made about her, she said.

a theme she continued Wednesday night.

Every time he lies, Drake University, don’t make it a drinking game because you’ll be overserved at the end of the night.

she said.

DeSantis then compared Haley to the governor of California. Gavin Newsom, whom he debated in November.

‘I thought he lied a lot. Man, Nikki Haley might give him a run for his money, and she might even be more liberal than Gavin Newsom,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis also attacked California’s policies during a conversation about immigration, saying the state provides free health insurance to anyone undocumented living in the state. (The state expanded eligibility for its Medi-Cal program to any documented or undocumented Californian whose income is low enough to qualify.)

We should not let states provide these benefits, he said.

While it is unlikely that any moment in the debate will materially change the course of the race, debates can promote or demolish candidacies. Haley’s recent rise is largely due to strong debate performances. In a 2011 presidential debate, then-governor of Texas said. Rick Perry’s campaign suffered after he failed to recall one of the three federal agencies he said he would eliminate.

But unless many of Trump’s current supporters change their preferences, he will be the Republican nominee.

Trump takes some hits before January 6 and threatens to suspend the constitution

The candidates have spent much of the election avoiding direct hits on Trump’s character and his efforts to overturn the election, fearing they would alienate his loyal voter base. But it made it harder for them to catch him in the polls.

Haley repeated her refrain that Trump was the right president at the right time, but took criticism of him a step further on Wednesday. She called his lawyer’s argument that he is immune from criminal charges ridiculous and criticized his false claims that he had previously won the 2020 election. then Biden.

He said Jan. 6 was a beautiful day, Haley said. I think January 6 was a terrible day. And we never want to see that happen again.

Despite this criticism, Haley has not ruled out being Trump’s running mate.

DeSantis has not been as forceful, but recently took issue with Trump’s call on social media to end the Constitution.

You can’t just end the Constitution, DeSantis said, before adding that Trump is prone to word vomit on social media from time to time.

But the core of DeSantis’ argument was about Trump’s electability, claiming that a general election with Trump as the candidate would focus on Jan. 6 and Trump’s lawsuits.

Democrats and the media would like to get started on that, he said.

Once again the elephant in the room was not in the room

At a town hall just two miles away at the Iowa Events Center, Trump batted away any suggestion that the two candidates would beat him in the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primaries. He told Fox News hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier that he would prioritize closing the border and drilling for oil during his first days in office.

We have millions and millions of people here. It’s not sustainable, Trump said. We will face the largest deportation effort in our country’s history. We’re bringing everyone back to where they came from. We have no choice.

In response to voters’ questions about whether he would protect all life, Trump took credit for the abortion restrictions that swept the country in the wake of the Supreme Court.

with three judges appointed by Trump

Roe vs. Overthrowing Wade.

If it weren’t for Roe v. Wade, you wouldn’t be asking these questions, he told her.

Trump also boasts about defeating the Islamic State and said his tax cuts, which disproportionately benefited wealthy people and corporations, undermined the economy. He also rejected suggestions that he was responsible for a rise in political violence and said he would be open to mending fences with former allies-turned-enemies.

As I’ve gotten to know Washington, I’ve gotten to know the people, he said. I know the smart, the stupid, the weak, the strong.

He repeated his refrain that the multiple criminal charges against him constitute a witch hunt.

Iowa: A winner or a decider?

Iowans are very proud to be hosting the nation’s first nominating contest. Haley recently voiced her criticism, saying that even though they finish first in the nominating contests, New Hampshire corrects them and then my beautiful state of South Carolina brings it home. She made the comments at a town hall in New Hampshire, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Asked about the comment during an event and interview in Iowa, she said she was joking. Not everyone believes Haley’s explanation. Some in the crowd at Des Moines City Hall booed. DeSantis airs television ads in Iowa attacking her through the flap.

Iowans know when you’re telling a joke, Haley said after DeSantis brought up the quote in the opening moments of the debate, before adding that the Florida governors’ campaign is largely limited to Iowa and is not a winning strategy to win the White House to win.

Haley is right when he says that the candidate who wins Iowa doesn’t always secure the party’s nomination. The last three GOP winners of the competitive Iowa caucuses, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, all failed in their attempts to be nominated for their party. But then-Sen. Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses set the stage for his successful campaign to defeat front-runner Hillary Clinton for the nomination and ultimately win the White House.

Haley stands up for the establishment on Ukraine’s financing

Foreign policy is the area where Haley differs most from Trump. She discussed Wednesday that continued funding for Ukraine is essential to retain allies and prevent China from invading Taiwan. Opponents of helping Kiev are misleading voters about the costs, which could be covered by cuts to Biden’s green agenda, she argued.

This is about preventing war, she said on Wednesday. This is about preventing our military men and women from having to go to war, and you can’t do that unless you focus on national security.

DeSantis, a pro-Ukrainian hawk when he was in Congress, has joined other Trumpist Republicans in rejecting aid, arguing that it is too expensive and that Haley’s policies are essentially a carbon copy of Biden’s .

You can take the ambassador with you

out

of the United Nations, but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador, he said of Haley.

Mehta reported from Des Moines and Bierman from Washington. Times staff writer Faith E. Pinho in Los Angeles contributed to this report.