Haley Looks To Build On Momentum At Fourth Republican Presidential Debate

Four candidates have qualified for the fourth Republican Presidential debate set to take place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Wednesday evening: Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

• Haley goes into the debate on a surge of momentum. She has recently picked up a major endorsement from the Koch brothers’ political network and, by most accounts, displaced DeSantis as the most credible challenger to former President Donald Trump, who will again skip the debate.
• The Washington Post notes: “With the Iowa caucuses just six weeks away, Christie and Haley have both made inroads with independents and anti-Trump Republicans voters, but the overlapping pool of supporters complicates both of their paths in New Hampshire. Haley currently is polling second in the state, but Christie is pulling more than 10 percent of potential primary voters — a share that could prove essential to GOP consolidation efforts against Trump.”
• Nate Cohn at the New York Times writes, while noting that Trump remains clear favourite: "The idea that Ms. Haley might win New Hampshire might seem far-fetched but, historically, much crazier things have happened. Late surges in Iowa and New Hampshire are so common that they’re closer to being the norm than the exception."