Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley previewed a strategy of how she will likely attack her chief rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), during Wednesday's third GOP primary debate.
Haley's campaign released a new "DeSantis Debate Preview: These Boots Are Made for Lying" video Tuesday that both taunts the Florida governor over allegations he wears height-enhancing cowboy boots and attacks his energy policy record.
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The roughly two-minute video claims that DeSantis will "lie about his record again" during the debate this week before showing a clip of Haley attacking the governor during the second debate in Simi Valley, California, in late September.
"What you don't need is a president who is against energy independence," Haley says. "Ron DeSantis is against fracking. He’s against drilling."
"No, it’s not true," DeSantis quipped back.
The ad then shows clips of DeSantis repeatedly saying he's opposed to off-shore drilling in Florida and preventing Floridian land from being used for oil production. In one scene, DeSantis is asked if he supports a ban on fracking, to which he replies, "Yeah."
At the beginning of his first gubernatorial term in January 2019, DeSantis signed an executive order that would take action to oppose "all off-shore oil and gas activities off every coast in Florida and hydraulic fracturing in Florida."
DeSantis's campaign pushed back against Haley's video in a statement to the Washington Examiner Tuesday afternoon.
"Ron DeSantis has a stronger combination of endorsements, fundraising, and ground game in the early states than any other candidate. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley struggles to answer for her abysmal record on China, accepting refugees from Gaza, and the UN," said DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin. "This is a two-man race. Team Trump knows it — that's why they're spending over $1 million this week alone to attack DeSantis in Iowa despite proclaiming the primary was 'over' in August. And the other candidates know it, too. With all the attacks and attention focused on DeSantis, we know we are over the target and primed to win this nomination."
Haley's campaign also taunted DeSantis over his decline in national and state polls in recent months in an email to reporters Tuesday. Yet, DeSantis is still in second place at 13.4%, behind former President Donald Trump at 57.9%, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average. Haley comes in third place at 8.9%. A recent Iowa poll from the Des Moines Register, NBC News, and Mediacom showed DeSantis and Haley tied in second place at 16%, far below Trump, who pulled in 43% of support from Republican caucusgoers.
As Haley has seen a rise in support among Republican voters, the battle between her and DeSantis to become the top non-Trump presidential candidate has only escalated. The candidates have attacked one another for their stances over Israel's war against Hamas and their dealings with China.
DeSantis and Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting his presidential campaign, have repeatedly knocked Haley for giving 197 acres to Chinese company Jushi Group, a fiberglass producer, to "set up shop" close to South Carolina's Fort Jackson Army base. The Haley campaign claimed DeSantis was again "lying about his record."
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DeSantis's campaign has repeatedly touted DeSantis signing legislation into law in May that limits "Chinese purchases of agriculture land and land near military bases and critical infrastructure."
Yet, despite the battle between DeSantis and Haley, both candidates still have an arduous path to defeating Trump, the GOP presidential primary front-runner. The former president is skipping Wednesday night's debate and holding a competing rally in Florida. He has insisted that given his dominance in polls and fundraising, he shouldn't have to participate in GOP-sanctioned debates.