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

The night heavily focused on international affairs.

By538 and ABC News
Last Updated: November 8, 2023, 5:24 PM EST

The third Republican debate of the 2024 presidential primary was held Wednesday night in Miami.

Five candidates took the stage: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

Missing -- again -- was front-runner Donald Trump, who instead hosted a rally not far away, in Hialeah, Florida.

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

Key moments:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 08, 2023, 8:51 PM EST

Fact-checking Ramaswamy on Ukraine banning ‘11 opposition parties’

Ramaswamy is different from his colleagues when it comes to Ukraine, generally arguing that the United States pull away from Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.

“Ukraine is not a paragon of democracy,” Ramaswamy said. “This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties.”

His point about political parties is accurate, but it needs context.

Ukraine banned 11 pro-Russian parties -- the largest of which occupied 44 out of 450 seats in Ukraine's Parliament, according to Radio Free Europe. The party’s leader, Viktor Medvedchuk, is aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter, Radio Free Europe reported.

-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman of PolitiFact

Nov 08, 2023, 8:46 PM EST

Appeals to Jewish voters could help Republicans, but the group remains strongly Democratic

Some Republicans may hope to make inroads with Jewish voters. That's a possibility, but Jewish voters remain strongly Democratic-leaning. Back in 2021, the Pew Research Center found that 71% of Jewish voters identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party, while 26% associated with the Republican Party. Now, there are some Jewish groups who do identify more with the GOP, particularly Orthodox Jews, three-fourths of whom identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning in the Pew survey. But even if Jewish voters were to shift toward the GOP, they are likely to remain predominantly Democratic in their leanings.

-Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

Nov 08, 2023, 8:51 PM EST

Fact-checking Christie on his record of lowering hate crimes in New Jersey.

Christie told a story about being appointed U.S. attorney in New Jersey on Sept. 10, 2011, and how one of his first big assignments was working to stop potential hate crimes on Jewish and Muslim residents.

“We stopped any hate crimes that were going on, either against Jewish Americans in New Jersey or Muslim Americans in New Jersey, Christie said.

The Asbury Park Press ran the numbers in 2016. Hate crimes did, in fact, drop.

Total reported hate crimes in 2010 numbered 775, the newspaper reported. The total number of hate crimes then dropped each year through 2015 -- from 606, to 553, 459, 373 and, finally, 367 in 2015.

Religiously motivated hate crimes also trended downward until 2015. That year they increased nearly 10% in New Jersey.

-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman of PolitiFact

Nov 08, 2023, 9:06 PM EST

Haley: America needs to 'soul search'

Haley said the country needs to "soul search" when asked what she would say to Americans who are afraid in this current environment, as the candidates discussed concerns over antisemitism and Islamophobia amid the Israel-Hamas war.

She said she is angered that Jewish students are feeling afraid on college campuses.

PHOTO: Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley speaks at the third Republican candidates' U.S. presidential debate in Miami, Fla., on Nov 8, 20
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley speaks at the third Republican candidates' U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Fla., on Nov 8, 2023.
Mike Segar/Reuters

She said Americans should not be celebrating terrorists, genocide or "violence toward anybody."

"We need to go back and soul search in our country and remember what we are about. And we are about taking care of people, not going and making them live in fear," she said.

-ABC News' Meredith Deliso

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