Republican presidential rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley will square off Wednesday in their first head-to-head debate as they fight to emerge as the clear alternative to frontrunner Donald Trump in the race for the party's White House nomination.
DeSantis and Haley have little time left to halt Trump's march towards the nomination, with the former president holding sizeable leads in opinion polls just five days before voting begins in Iowa on Monday.
In their battle to become the lone challenger to Trump, Haley and DeSantis have been intensifying attacks on each other in recent days and are expected to unleash furious salvos in the CNN debate, which begins at 9 p.m. ET.
