- Five candidates took part in the third Republican debate on Wednesday
- DeSantis and Haley were both judged to be strong performers
- And both said they subsequently raised $1 million for their campaigns
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley raised more than $1 million immediately after the fourth Republican presidential debate on Wednesday.
The two campaigns have made dueling claims as they seek to finish second in the presidential primary race.
And they are all eager to build momentum from strong performances on the debate stage.
The DeSantis campaign released an email touting recent successes and claiming to have raised more than $1 million in the 24 hours after the debate.
“This is another example of how our fundraising continues to accelerate this quarter and is a sign of our growing momentum following historic support from Kim Reynolds and a debate win this week,” it said.
The campaigns of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said they both raised more than $1 million after Wednesday’s Republican debate
An exclusive poll for of debate viewers found that 56 percent thought DeSantis won the duel, while 35 percent said Haley defeated the Florida governor.
At the same time, a number of influential experts gave Haley victory.
“We need a president who can win back the White House and help win races across all constituencies,” Haley said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We raised more than $1 million after the debate – thank you to everyone who donated to our movement.”
While former President Donald Trump has a big lead in the 2024 nomination race, Haley and DeSantis are in a battle for second place.
During the debate they exchanged blows with China.
Haley accused DeSantis of being weak on the issue because he did not promise to end trade ties with Beijing over fentanyl.
He responded by accusing her of writing “a love letter to the Chinese ambassador.”
Haley and DeSantis lead the field, chasing the clear front-runner Donald Trump
DeSantis beat Haley out of sight in the third Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night, according to an exclusive audience poll from .
“She welcomed them to South Carolina and gave them land near a military base,” he said.
The 2014 letter thanked the ambassador for Chinese help on the “economic front.”
“Ron, you are the chairman of your economic development agency who said last week that Florida is the ideal location for Chinese companies,” she retorted.
“In addition, you have a company that produces Chinese military aircraft.”
They also traded blows over oil and natural gas, with Haley accusing DeSantis of being anti-fracking.