- Five candidates took part in the third Republican debate on Wednesday
- DeSantis and Haley were both judged to have put in strong performances
- And both said they had raised $1 million for their campaigns afterwards
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley raised more than $1 million immediately after Wednesday’s fourth Republican presidential debate.
The two campaigns sent out duelling claims as they seek to take second place outright in the presidential primary race.
And they are each looking to build momentum out of strong performances on the debate stage.
The DeSantis campaign fired out an email touting recent successes and claiming to have raised more than a million dollars in the 24 hours after the debate.
‘This is yet another example of how our fundraising continues to accelerate this quarter, and is a sign of our growing momentum following the historic endorsement of Kim Reynolds and a debate victory this week,’ it said.
The campaigns of former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said they had both raised more than a million dollars after Wednesday’s Republican debate
An exclusive poll for DailyMail.com of debate viewers found 56 percent thought DeSantis won the match-up, while 35 percent said Haley bested the Florida governor.
At the same time, a string of influential pundits gave the win to Haley.
‘We need a president who can win back the White House and help win races up and down the ballot,’ said Haley on X, the platform once known as Twitter.
‘We’ve raised more than $1 million post-debate — thank you to everyone who’s donated to our movement.’
While former President Donald Trump holds a huge lead in the 2024 nomination race, Haley and DeSantis are locked in battle for second place.
They traded blows on China during the debate.
Haley accused DeSantis of being weak on the issue for not promising to end trade relations with Beijing over fentanyl.
He responded by accusing her of writing ‘the Chinese ambassador a love letter.’
Haley and DeSantis head the field chasing the clear frontrunner, Donald Trump
DeSantis beat Haley out of sight in the third Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night, according to an exclusive DailyMail.com poll of viewers.
‘She welcomed them into South Carolina, gave them land near a military base,’ he said.
The letter, sent in 2014, thanked the ambassador for Chinese help on the ‘economic front.’
‘Ron, you are the chair of your economic development agency that, as of last week, said Florida is the ideal place for Chinese businesses,’ she fired back.
‘Not only that, you have a company that is a manufacturer of Chinese military planes.’
They also traded blows on oil and natural gas, with Haley accusing DeSantis of opposing fracking.
