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

The candidates have gathered in Miami for the third debate and DeSantis may hope that his home state's March 19 primary will give him a boost as the GOP nomination race progresses. However, he's got a lot of work to do for that to happen.

DeSantis is in a distant second in national primary polls and also holds that position in surveys of the Iowa caucuses, which will kick things off on Jan. 15. However, even in his home state, DeSantis is badly behind Trump:

In 538's primary average, Trump currently leads DeSantis in the Sunshine State by about 32% -- 53-21%.

Now, Trump's home state is also Florida, with him home at Mar-a-Lago, although he's a longtime New Yorker. And a lot will happen before Florida votes in mid-March. But we saw in 2016 that your home state only matters so much if your campaign isn't doing well. Back then, Trump defeated Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 46-27% in the Florida primary, which finished Rubio in that race.

-Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez -- a former 2024 Republican presidential candidate -- said on ABC News Live on Wednesday that he would consider endorsing either Haley or Trump in the presidential primary but "it remains to be seen when I'll do it."

On Haley, Suarez told ABC News Live anchor Kayna Whitworth that she's someone who "called me a rock-star mayor. She went on my podcast. I have a relationship with her."

Suarez said he also has had "very good conversations with the former president," saying Trump called him "right away" when he suspended his primary campaign in August and has been in touch since.

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-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim, Kayna Whitworth and Rick Klein

Your humble fact-checker is reporting for duty. I’m Aaron Sharockman, the executive director of PolitiFact. We’re excited to help sort out fact from fiction during Wednesday's debate.

I’m not omniscient -- in case you’re wondering. PolitiFact has a team of more than 30 fact-checkers that has been scrutinizing the candidates’ remarks for months. And wouldn’t you know it, candidates tend to repeat themselves on debate night.

I’ll be popping in when we see something that warrants more context or a correction.

-Aaron Sharockman of PolitiFact

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