Haley draws fire in 4th GOP debate, Christie warns absent Trump is biggest issue

The Iowa caucuses are weeks away; the former president remains the favorite.

By538 and ABC News
Last Updated: December 6, 2023, 6:01 PM EST

With voting set to start in the 2024 Republican primary in less than six weeks, four of the top candidates again took the stage for a debate -- this time on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama -- and the event proved to be fiery.

Hosted by NewsNation and moderated by Elizabeth Vargas, Megyn Kelly and Eliana Johnson, the debate featured Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. The primary's front-runner, former President Donald Trump, continued to skip the event despite criticism from his rivals. He was fundraising in Florida.

ABC News and the analysts at 538 live-blogged every major moment and highlight from the debate. PolitiFact made real-time fact checks.

Key moments:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Dec 06, 2023, 6:01 PM EST

How to watch

The debate, being held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, will air on cable news network NewsNation at 8 p.m. EST.

It will also be broadcast in the Eastern and Central time zones on the company's broadcast television network, The CW.

The faceoff will be livestreamed on NewsNation's website and on Rumble as well.

The moderators will be Elizabeth Vargas, the anchor of NewsNation's "Elizabeth Vargas Reports"; Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News and NBC News anchor who now hosts "The Megyn Kelly Show" on Sirius XM; and Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon.

-ABC News' Sarah Beth Hensley

PHOTO: Stand-ins assume positions of candidates and moderators to check sound and lighting, in advance of a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NewsNation, on Dec. 6, 2023, at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Stand-ins assume positions of candidates and moderators to check sound and lighting, in advance of a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NewsNation, on Dec. 6, 2023, at the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Gerald Herbert/AP

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