Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis will appear at back-to-back town hall events in Iowa Thursday night.
The town hall event is an opportunity for Haley and DeSantis, who have been competing for second place behind former President Trump throughout the campaign, to appeal to voters in the Hawkeye State just days before the Iowa caucuses begin on Jan. 15. .
The event will be broadcast on CNN on Thursday, January 4th and will be held at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will be the first to speak at the event, which begins at 9 p.m. ET and will be moderated by CNN anchor Caitlan Collins.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley will later speak at an event moderated by CNN anchor Erin Burnett starting at 10 p.m.
Fox News Channel will host another town hall event in Des Moines with Haley and DeSantis on Monday and Tuesday at 6pm EST.
Later that month, CNN plans to host two Republican presidential primary debates in January, the first in Des Moines on January 10th and the second in Goffstown, New Hampshire, on January 21st.
DeSantis and Haley are scheduled to attend the Iowa debate next week. Former President Trump was also eligible to participate in the debate, but instead chose to simultaneously participate in his own town hall event on Fox News.
These events are candidates' last chance to sway Iowa voters. Trump remains the clear favorite in both early voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire.
Trump leads in Iowa with 51.6% of the vote. DeSantis has 18% support, followed closely by Haley with 17.1%, according to Decision Desk, a partner at The Hill.
In New Hampshire, Trump maintains a less overwhelming lead at 41.6%. Ms. Haley has steadily increased her approval ratings over the past few months, now at 29.7 percent, thanks to some strong debate performances. DeSantis has fallen in the rankings since August and is currently in fourth place behind former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with an approval rating of 7.4%, Decision Desk Headquarters reported.
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