Nikki Haley Ron DeSantis Republican debate Chris Christie exits race live updates

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are set to face off in the first 2024 election cycle debate.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are scheduled to participate in the first one-on-one debate of the 2024 election cycle, while former President Donald Trump is set to participate in a town hall event at the same time. These competing events are happening in Iowa just five days before the state's leadoff presidential caucuses. The candidates are making last-minute appeals to voters to turn out for the Jan. 15 contest, which could be the coldest caucus night ever.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who didn't qualify for the debate, dropped out of the race on Wednesday in an attempt to reduce Trump's momentum heading into Iowa.

The Iowa Republican voters will indicate their picks for the party's presidential nominee next Monday, and the results of that vote will determine how many of the state's 40 convention delegates each candidate will receive. Candidates win national convention delegates in direct proportion to the percentage of the vote they receive. There is no minimum threshold required to qualify for delegates. For Democrats, the 2024 caucuses will have no bearing on the presidential race.

Dozens of vehicles were stranded after a snowstorm in Iowa, forcing candidates to cancel their events earlier in the week when heavy snow hit the leadoff caucus state.

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis both agree that Haley will 'get smoked.' Trump said that he might "even get to like" Christie again after the departing presidential candidate was caught on a hot mic saying that Haley was "going to get smoked" and was "not up to this." DeSantis' sentiment in a post on X was similar: "I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is 'going to get smoked.'" Haley, meanwhile, was gracious in her well wishes for Christie, calling her former fellow governor "a friend for many years" and commending him "on a hard-fought campaign."

Christie was caught on a hot mic bashing Haley moments before he ended his campaign at a New Hampshire town hall. He also said that former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had called him, "petrified" that he was going to endorse Haley, but the hot mic was cut before he finished speaking.

Haley and DeSantis have spent much of the Republican presidential primary flanked by lower-polling rivals, so the stakes are high for the former U.N. ambassador and the Florida governor at Wednesday's debate. The moment is especially important for Haley, a politician long known for her disciplined approach to messaging but who has recently suffered a series of gaffes.

DeSantis left an important item in Florida when he flew back to Iowa after delivering his State of the State address Tuesday. "I actually do have a winter coat," DeSantis told a construction contractors convention in Des Moines on Wednesday. "And I forgot it. I left it at home." The temperatures for Iowa were below freezing and headed to below zero through Monday's caucuses. DeSantis told the crowd that his staff was hustling his coat from Tallahassee before he headed up to even-chillier northwest Iowa on Thursday. "I think I'll need much more than that," he said. "I think I'm going to need the earmuffs and all that stuff."

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