What is happening when you win? Nikki Haley tells us how to do things differently in the U.S. after the first year of the Cold War
A long time ago in South Carolina, as Nikki Haley recalls when she talks to voters in New Hampshire and Iowa, she ran campaigns that nobody thought much of until, unexpectedly, suddenly, she was winning them. Is that what is happening here? Is this real?
She is gaining in the places that matter. And she is running the campaign she’s run before: hard-core conservative on fiscal matters and immigration, kitchen-table pragmatic on basically everything else. A plaintive quality in Ms. Haley’s voice joins up well with the grim statistics she shares about kids’ reading and math proficiency post-pandemic, and about what happens to veterans after they come home. She spoke about the importance of the U.S. supporting Ukraine and Israel to prevent further deterioration of the world order and also spoke of her desire to have a peace through strength approach to China.
Running for the Win: Tim Scott vs. Nikki Haley in Florida, Chris Christie, and Vivek Ramaswamy
Fewer candidates will mean less competition for time — which could make it easier for one candidate to break out and, at least potentially, be seen as the main rival to Donald J. Trump. The former president, who hasn’t been in the previous debates, will be hosting a rally outside of Miami. There’s only one debate left in December and the candidates will be looking to make the most of it.
The changing landscape will most likely alter the strategic calculations of the candidates who qualified under the Republican National Committee rules: Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and former ambassador to the United Nations; Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor; Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor; Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur; and Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator.
Of the three undercards, Mr. Scott is, in the view of Republicans, the only one who seems to have much chance of breaking through. He’s had to contend with higher profile opponents and the likelihood that this debate will be focused on Ms. Haley and Mr.
At the first two debates, Mr. DeSantis played the front-runner, attacking his opponents only when he was hit first. That might not work anymore as he is under increasing pressure to slow Ms. Haley’s rise in the polls and reassure voters who may have come to question his political agility and strength as a general election candidate.
This has not been an easy stretch for Mr. DeSantis, in no small part because of the attacks from Mr. Trump on everything from his foreign policy credentials to his height. Mr. DeSantis won re-election as governor last year, and he is well-liked in Miami. And this week he drew the endorsement of Kim Reynolds, the governor of Iowa. Mr. DeSantis has staked his bid on his performance in the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 15.
What are you going to do? He spoke in an interview. “If he says something which I think is worthy of being responded to, I’ll respond to it. But I’ve now spent four hours on the debate stage with him, and I haven’t heard him say one thing worthy of being responded to.”
Is Mr. Trump’s Proposal for the 2020 Presidential Campaign Determinant Determinable? — The Case of Ukraine and the Middle East
Foreign policy, with some noteworthy exceptions over the years, has not proved determinative in presidential nominating contests. The conflict in Ukraine and the violence in the Middle East are likely to come up at the debate.
The question of U.S. assistance to Ukraine is dividing the GOP and could show differences in candidates on the path to follow if they are elected. The candidates are likely to be pressed on whether they back House Speaker Mike Johnson’s first major proposal — a plan to tie money for Ukraine to a border bill unpopular with Democrats.
While the Republican Party is more united in its support for Israel, the conflict has prompted some of the field’s sharpest criticism of Mr. Trump.
The Republican Jewish Coalition gathering last month saw Haley attack Mr. Trump for his comments on Hezbollah and Benjamin Netanyahu for being weak after a deadly attack by Hamas on Israeli settlers.
Mr. Ramaswamy was an energetic debater but he became more of a target after the second debate. He has not been a force in the race going into tonight as he has only been in the single digits in many polls. And Mr. Christie could hardly be more out of step with much of the Republican Party with his relentless attacks on Mr. Trump: He is routinely booed at Republican events.
One major question is how many people will even be watching. The first debate had 12 million viewers, the second had 10 million. Unless Mr. Trump makes a dramatic last-minute appearance on the stage, that seems unlikely to change.
The audience is going down the drain because of Trump. The race can feel like it is almost over before voters cast their votes, even though many Republicans are open to nominating someone other than Mr. Trump.