Republican debate viewers say DeSantis was STRONG while Haley was SMART but WEAK

Viewers of Wednesday’s Republican debate thought Ron DeSantis came across as “strong” while rival Nikki Haley was “smart” but weak, according to an exclusive poll for DailyMail.com.

The two went head-to-head in a slugfest before Iowa Republicans chose their preferred 2024 candidate.

Viewers named the Florida governor the clear winner of the two-hour debate, as he battles Haley to become front-runner Donald Trump’s biggest challenger.

When asked what they thought of his performance, the top answers were: strong, smart, boring, presidential and leader.

That will be a welcome boost for a campaign that needs a good showing in the Iowa caucuses to advance to the New Hampshire primary later this month.

DeSantis appeared on stage with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. He came out swinging looking for a strong showing in Monday’s Iowa caucuses

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has built momentum but underperformed, at least according to JL Partners research.

But her word cloud contained terms that will provide some encouragement. In addition to “weak,” the terms also include: smart, awesome, intelligent, and boring.

James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said voters were clear about the qualities they wanted in the Republican candidate to take on President Joe Biden.

“In 2024, the characteristic that primary voters are looking for in their candidate is strength,” he said.

“It’s one of the reasons why Trump is leading. Haley may seem competent and ticking boxes, but voters don’t see her as strong.”

JL Partners conducted an online poll for two hours after the debate ended Wednesday evening.

Of the 453 respondents, about 55 percent said Florida’s governor won the debate, while 31 percent said his rival performed better.

As a result, 14 percent indicated that they had no opinion.

Respondents were also given a series of qualities and asked which candidate best reflected those qualities.

There are mixed messages for Haley in her word cloud

Viewers declare Florida Governor Ron DeSantis the winner of Wednesday night’s debate with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Halley in our quick poll

DeSantis won “most competent,” “strongest,” “most presidential,” and “best against Donald Trump,” all by margins of about 18 percent.

Haley, on the other hand, was rated “weakest,” “most annoying” and “most boring” by similar margins.

DeSantis faced the highest stakes on the night.

After being hailed as a shining star in the Republican Party, a botched campaign launch set the tone for a stuttering run. At times, internal squabbles overshadowed his efforts to win over voters.

He poured resources into Iowa, hoping that its conservative population would give him a strong performance.

Haley, on the other hand, is focusing more on New Hampshire, making his choice later in January. Her supporters also believe she will benefit most if former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie drops out on Wednesday.

DeSantis’ urgency was evident on stage at Drake University in Des Moines.

The first question invited him to take a swipe at former President Trump. DeSantis quickly pivoted and attacked Haley as a “mealy-mouthed” politician interested only in representing the interests of her donors.

DeSantis came out and kept it up until the end of the night

He hit her again and again for freaking out and tried to use her foreign policy experience against her, portraying her as a globalist eager to spend American money on other people’s problems.

“You can take the ambassador out of the United Nations, but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador,” he said.

Pollster Frank Luntz wrote, “If DeSantis had been this good in the early primary debates, he would be in a much stronger position today. I’ve been critical of him, but he’s on fire tonight.”

But Haley’s supporters said DeSantis had the bigger challenge and failed to get it done.

“I don’t think it’s so much what she needed to do,” said Eric Levine, a Haley donor. “It’s what DeSantis had to do because his campaign is focused on life support.

‘He had to come out before her period. And he did nothing to change that dynamic.