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

The Iowa caucuses take place on Jan. 15, and it was clear from Wednesday's contentious interactions that we're getting down to the wire now.

At this point in the race, DeSantis and Haley are best positioned to grab the mantle of "Trump's main opponent," so it was no surprise to see them take big verbal swings at each other over and over on the stage. However, each candidate needs to attract both primary voters who don't support Trump and some of the former president's supporters, a difficult challenge. And with Trump leading by around 25 points in both Iowa and New Hampshire polling, changes at the margins aren't enough.

From that perspective, DeSantis made the case that he's got a conservative track record full of election victories and policy wins. Haley, meanwhile, spent much of the debate on the defensive, but she argued for an assertive foreign policy, greater immigration restrictions and reduced regulations to spur home building.

Their rhetoric may win over a few voters who aren't in Trump's camp, although Christie's showing probably satisfied his small anti-Trump block of supporters. But did any of this convince some of Trump's supporters to break with the former president? Probably not many.

That's a big problem for DeSantis and Haley -- they not only need to gain, they also need Trump to seriously lose ground.

-Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

This was a feisty debate with a lot of one-on-one clashes, like between Christie and Ramaswamy. But I think it was also largely a continuation of what we’ve seen in previous debates. Haley stuck with the approach that has served her well so far. Ramaswamy was aggressive, perhaps to the point of being abrasive. Christie came out swinging against Trump and didn’t seem to care that it was unpopular. As a result, I’m expecting that this debate won’t change anything about the race. But we’ll see for sure on Thursday, when we get the results of our poll with The Washington Post and Ipsos, in which we’ll ask Republicans voters who won and lost.

-Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of 538

With a small debate stage on Wednesday, there was much less crosstalk and arguing than in past faceoffs -- but that doesn't mean there was none.

Ramaswamy, who has described himself as the candidate who embraces a disruptive (even provocative) style on stage, got into his share of back-and-forths during the debate and ended up with the most approximate speaking time, according to ABC News' count.

DeSantis trailed very closely behind, and then Haley and Christie were close together in their amounts -- but with more than four minutes less, each, than Ramaswamy and DeSantis.

These totals include time when the candidates talked over one another.

-ABC News' Hajah Bah

Haley, in her closing statement, said America under the Biden administration was a country “in chaos.”

But -- “that’s what Donald Trump gives us,” she said. “My approach is different: no drama, no vendettas, no whining.”

The only candidate to serve in Trump’s White House, Haley has since sought to distance herself from the former president while praising his term in office.

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia