Haley spars with Republican rivals at 3rd primary debate as Trump still looms

The Democratic National Committee has deployed a bilingual billboard to circle the debate venue taunting the former president.

"We almost forgot about the debate..." the billboard teases. It largely focuses on what it calls Trump's "extreme MAGA agenda," listing his positions on abortion, Social Security, Medicare and more, though it also trolls the five candidates appearing on stage.

The Republican National Committee, in response, said it welcomed the Democratic Party's "efforts to waste time and money in the red state of Florida."

In addition, the Biden-Harris campaign put up lawn signs of the "Dark Brandon" meme around the performing arts center.

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler

Not far from where his rivals are gathering in Miami, Trump is hosting a rally in Hialeah, a heavily Hispanic part of Florida where Republicans have seen gains in recent years.

It's his third straight time bucking the debates, even though he's easily met the polling and donor thresholds.

The former president and his team are ditching the events in a signal that, to them, the primary is essentially already over -- which his challengers reject -- and he's refusing to sign the Republican National Committee's loyalty pledge vowing to support the ultimate GOP nominee regardless of who it is.

-ABC News' Tal Axelrod

Five candidates made the stage in Miami, but Christie and Scott had a tougher time qualifying than the other three contenders. That will put pressure on them to really shine as they seek to have more staying power in this race.

At this point, both have clear hurdles to making the December debate, and as past elections have shown, failing to qualify for a debate can portend the near-term end of a candidate’s campaign.

Looking ahead to the next debate, the Republican National Committee raised the polling threshold for qualifying surveys from 4% to 6%, a level that Christie and Scott have struggled to hit. In fact, Scott did not do better than 4% in a qualifying national poll for this debate, so he may face the most difficulty.

With that in mind, expect him to assert himself, which might mean more attacks on Haley, his fellow South Carolinian and someone whom Scott criticized at the last debate.

As for Christie, he’s in a tougher spot because most Republicans have an unfavorable view of him, which greatly limits his ability to increase his support. Still, given Christie’s sharp anti-Trump rhetoric, we can probably expect him to keep leaning into that approach in the hopes that it’ll draw backing from more moderate and/or independent-minded voters who plan to vote in the GOP primary.

-Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

Scott, who is trailing the other debate participants in the polls, hopes to make his mark among voters looking for an alternative to Trump, a campaign spokesperson said ahead of the debate.

"At the end of the day, I think what I would expect from Sen. Scott is asking -- who can win?" Matt Gorman, a senior campaign adviser, said on ABC News Live Wednesday. "Is it gonna be a moderate who's coalescing the 'Never Trumpers' like Gov. Haley, or someone who's fallen two-thirds in the polls like Gov. DeSantis, whose only thing that's consistent about his campaign is how much it's underwhelmed?"

Gorman said Scott might look to focus on contrasts among the candidates on policy issues such as abortion. The senator has said that as president he would advocate for a 15-week national ban on abortion.

4:06

Scott hopes to have breakout moment in third GOP debate

A spokesperson for Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., talks about how he will go after other candidates and how he hopes to make his mark in the debate.

ABCNews.com

-ABC News' Meredith Deliso