Haley spars with Republican rivals at 3rd primary debate as Trump still looms
The night heavily focused on international affairs.
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:
Haley spokesperson says she's coming into debate with momentum
Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokesperson for Haley's campaign, said the former South Carolina governor is " the only candidate on the stage who actually has momentum" heading into Wednesday's debate.
"She's in a strong position in all three early states, so for us, it's head down, do the work, be in those early states, meet with voters, share her vision and it's working," Perez-Cubas said on ABC News Live on Wednesday.
Perez-Cubas also said Haley wouldn't be afraid to take on Trump, who has retained his polling lead even as Haley sees her own numbers rise somewhat, while still significantly trailing him.
"When she agrees with Trump, she says it. When she disagrees with Trump, she says it," the spokesperson said. "She makes no qualms about it."
-ABC News' Tal Axelrod
Ramaswamy's campaign on his pledge to be 'unhinged' at debate
While Ramaswamy has told ABC News White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks that his plan for the third debate is to "be unhinged," his campaign's deputy communications director separately weighed in on what exactly that strategy means during an appearance on ABC News Live on Wednesday.
"It means that Vivek Ramaswamy at all times speaks the truth. It's the backbone of his campaign ... Vivek Ramaswamy is going to tell the truth in the fact that he's going to put America first, he's not going to lead us into World War III, and at the end of the day every single decision he makes -- and he's going to express this at the debate tonight -- is going to be based on one determining factor: does this put America first?"
Watch the full exchange below.
-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler
And now ... a reality check: Will any of this even make a difference?
Every candidate goes into a debate hoping for a viral moment or a game-changing performance. But unfortunately for them, that's usually just not how it works.
For instance, according to polling from 538, The Washington Post and Ipsos, the September GOP debate barely changed the minds of any Republican primary voters, and the August one succeeded only in giving Haley a modest boost. As a result, I'm skeptical that any candidate is going to have a breakout moment that will change the trajectory of their campaign.
Even if they have a strong performance and go up in the polls a little bit, like Haley did, they are still facing the reality that Trump is 40 points ahead of his closest competitor. And even if a candidate has a phenomenal debate performance in Miami and surges, say, 15 points in the polls (which would be pretty impressive!), they'd still be at least 25 points behind in the race overall.
-Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of 538
Where the candidates will be standing and what it shows about their support
During the debate, the five GOP candidates will be standing, from audience left to right: Christie, Haley, DeSantis, Ramaswamy and Scott.
Among the debate participants, DeSantis, in the center, is leading in the polls -- ranked second place nationally, according to 538's polling average. He's followed by Haley, Ramaswamy, Christie and Scott in the polls.
Trump continues to lead all of them by double digits.
To be eligible to participate in Wednesday's debate, a candidate must have at least 4% support in two national polls or at least 4% in one nationwide survey as well as two polls from separate early states, based on polls conducted since Sept. 1 that meet the Republican National Committee's criteria for inclusion.
-ABC News' Meredith Deliso
Candidates voice support of Israel
Asked what they would be urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do if they were president, the candidates were united on Israel's right to defend itself against the terrorist group Hamas.
DeSantis said he would tell Netanyahu to "finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas."
"The only thing we should be doing is supporting them in eliminating Hamas," Haley said, while also stressing the need to bring hostages home.
Ramaswamy said he would tell Netanyahu to "smoke those terrorists on his southern border, and I'll tell him as president of the United States, I'll be smoking the terrorists on our southern border."
Scott said he would tell President Joe Biden that diplomacy is a "weak strategy."
"You cannot negotiate with evil. You have to destroy it," he said.
Christie echoed the other candidates, saying, "You must make sure that Hamas can never do this again."
-ABC News' Meredith Deliso