Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis traded blows on immigration, taxes and defending Ukraine in a bruising primetime debate on CNN on Wednesday night.

With just the two Republicans on stage, the personal attacks flew thick and fast.

The Florida governor dubbed Ms Haley a “mealy-mouthed politician” and a “carbon copy” of Joe Biden.

The former South Carolina governor in turn described her on-stage opponent as “desperate” and repeatedly directed the audience to a website dedicated to Mr DeSantis’ “lies”.

But it was Donald Trump, who had the stage all to himself over on the more valuable platform, the conservative-favourite Fox News, that was able to claim ultimate victory over the night.

Ron DeSantis looked more confident, and more agile on his feet than we have ever seen him.

The Florida governor prepared extensively for Wednesday night’s clash, working with a seasoned debate coach to shake off his label as a wooden performer.

It clearly paid off. He was fluent in communicating his policy positions and looked relaxed and confident on stage.

There were moments when the 45-year-old appeared to have suffered from over preparation.

Some of his rehearsed lines may have sounded better on paper than they did in the execution.

“We need to fly a flag of bold colours, carrying the banner of putting the American people first, not the pale pastels of the warmed-over corporatism of people like Nikki Haley,” was one such example.

But the Florida governor found his groove as the night went on, parrying Ms Haley’s attack lines and successfully staking out his conservative credentials.

He was able to paint Ms Haley as a fixture of the Republican establishment, quipping: “You can take the ambassador out of the United Nations but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador”.

Nikki Haley has proved herself to be among the most talented political athletes in the field throughout this presidential race.

Yet after a string of electrifying debate performances she has found herself victim to a familiar problem for politicians on the rise: expectation management.

In the end, she was unable to clear the high bar that had been set for herself.

Ms Haley faced a double challenge tonight, juggling her on-stage performance with attempting to court voters in both Iowa, which goes first, and New Hampshire, where she is polling higher but votes second.

She had a number of good lines, calling Mr DeSantis “desperate” and mocking his campaign turmoil, asking: “Why should we think you can manage or do anything in this country?”

But her main strategy for the night - rebutting Mr DeSantis’ claims about her with a “DeSantis lies” website - came across as a cheap gimmick in comparison to the far more substantive arguments put forward by the Florida governor.

Donald Trump was in his element on Wednesday night. 

The format of a structured Q&A with an audience present worked for the former president’s skill set: he loves playing to a crowd, but did not get bogged down in lengthy asides, as he often does in his campaign rallies.

At the town hall, we saw a strong focus on Mr Trump’s record in government and his pledges for a second term – including some tall claims about ending foreign wars and a strong hint he would clear out the top layers of government to produce an aggressive MAGA administration.

However, there were moments when he floundered, especially when giving a woolly answer on his views on abortion. In a debate context, he would likely have faced even more difficulty on that subject.