Ron DeSantis took former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to task in her home state during a press conference at the state Capitol in Columbia, denouncing her "ridiculous" record on transgender and fiscal issues.

"I just find it crazy that I seem to be the only Republican candidate that can give a straightforward answer to the question of, 'Can a man become a woman?' And so [the answer to] that question is 'no,'" DeSantis told a group of lawmakers and reporters.

"Donald Trump has hemmed and hawed about it. Nikki Haley gave a ridiculous word salad yesterday, or two days ago," he added. "Initially she said it was about the parents, then I think she's now said there should be federal legislation. ... I guess it depends on which Nikki you talk to."

"This is a basically abusive surgery," DeSantis went on. "You can't take your kid and get a 12-year-old a tattoo. You can't take a 13-year-old and sit them at the bar. .... There's just certain things that are not appropriate for minors."

The Florida governor also commended Palmetto State legislators for "leaning in against this ESG cartel," adding that under his leadership in Florida he cut investments from state pensions into "powerful companies" that yield a "politicized economy."

"Now Nikki Haley, she was asked about ESG and she didn't criticize it. She was bragging about being supported by BlackRock."

Asked about his plans for upcoming contests in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, DeSantis also hit Haley for refusing to debate him further.

"You owe the people of New Hampshire a debate," he told her, before pivoting to attack her for skipping the Nevada caucus next month. "She's going to win zero delegates. ... We're competing in Nevada. It's all about the accumulation of delegates."

A little more from that American Research Group survey of New Hampshire voters.

Trump leads Haley 41%-39% among those who say they will "definitely" vote Jan. 23, while Haley leads by 25 percentage points -- 51% to 26% -- among those who will "probably" vote.

Registered Republicans like Trump by 12 percentage points (47% to 35%), while "undeclared" voters prefer Haley 51% to 24%.

There's also no age split to speak of, with Haley narrowly leading Trump (40% to 39%) among ages 18 to 49. Among voters 50 and up, the two each have 40% support.

Polls of the New Hampshire primary can be ... unreliable, to put it mildly. And American Research Group is only one survey -- and a survey that has consistently been kind to Nikki Haley.

That said, here's ARG's latest poll of likely GOP primary voters, out this morning:

Trump -- 40%

Haley -- 40%

Undecided -- 9%

DeSantis -- 4%

Ramaswamy -- 4%

The poll was in the field Jan. 12-15 (margin of error plus-or-minus 4%), hence the absence of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who dropped out Jan. 10.

Obviously, it remains to be seen what effect Iowa's results have on the Granite State, especially with Ramaswamy dropping out and endorsing Trump.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Another one bites the dust.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ended his 2024 Republican campaign Tuesday after an abysmal showing in the Iowa caucus.

"I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support," Hutchinson said in a statement.

"Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in lowa."

With 99% of the expected vote in, Hutchinson attracted just 191 votes -- a mere 56,069 behind Trump.

"I stand by the campaign I ran, the 73-year-old said. "I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our country's future. Susan and I are blessed beyond measure, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have fought in the political arena for America."

DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quickly trashed Nikki Haley for signaling plans to skip the two debates in New Hampshire.

"Nikki Haley is afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions such as how she got rich off Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer handouts as governor of South Carolina," he posted on X.

"The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump’s VP. I won’t snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week."

Earlier in the day, Haley said she didn't intend to debate unless it included former President Donald Trump, who hasn't participated in any of the five conducted thus far.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The outcome of last night's Iowa caucus was clear 30 minutes after voter meetings began across the Hawkeye State.

But at a similar point four years ago, Democrats were clueless about who Iowans had picked for their party nod.

A snafu with the reporting software triggered a three-day delay in finding out the actual results. Some viewed the reported outcome as hopelessly compromised, with the Associated Press refusing to porject a winner.

When the dust settled, Pete Buttigieg emerged with the most state delegates, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) However, Sanders notched a higher popular vote total, according to subsequent recounts.

The fiasco led to the resignation of state Democratic Party Chairman Tony Price -- while the DNC awarded the coveted first contest slot to South Carolina this time around.

DES MOINES, Iowa — After weeks of demurring, Nikki Haley signaled strongly Tuesday that she does not intend on debating Ron DeSantis before the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary.

“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”

There had been two tentative debates set for this week: an ABC News/WMUR-TV showdown on Jan. 18 and a CNN face-off on Jan. 21 — both at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democrats took glee in biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy's political demise early Tuesday.

“We didn’t think this was possible, but the entire Republican Party is worse for Vivek Ramaswamy having run for office," Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika said in a statement after Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 GOP race and endorsed Donald Trump upon finishing fourth in Iowa.

"Ramaswamy spent his entire campaign promoting unhinged conspiracy theories, so it’s no surprise that he is using his last gasp of relevance to back Donald Trump," Chitika added. "Voters will make it clear that Ramaswamy’s extreme views are a loser in the general election – just like Trump’s.”

DES MOINES, Iowa — After Donald Trump smoked his Republican rivals tonight, Nikki Haley's campaign is downplaying the implications for the 2024 race.

“The race now moves to less Trump-friendly territory. And the field of candidates is effectively down to two, with only Trump and Nikki Haley having substantial support in both New Hampshire and South Carolina," her campaign declared in a new memo.

Notably, Haley is projected to finish in third place, behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as well. The memo was penned by Haley's campaign manager Betsy Ankney.

"In Iowa, Trump frequently predicted a win by a 60-point margin. He won by 30%. In a state in which caucus voters are among the most pro-Trump of any electorate in America, he got 51%, and 49% preferred someone else," Ankney continued.

"That’s far from the ringing endorsement of Trump that the media portrays."

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democrats heralded Donald Trump's blowout victory tonight as an extremist takeover of the Republican Party.

"The stakes of this election became even clearer for Americans across the country. Donald Trump is the leader of an extreme MAGA movement that has fully taken over the Republican Party," Democrat National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison declared in a statement.

Simultaneously, Harrison chided Trump for the just under 50% of GOP caucus-goers who wanted one of his rivals.

"In a clear sign of weakness, even as the leader of the GOP and a former president, nearly half of Iowa Republicans voted for someone else," Harrison went on. "Hard working Americans will reject this extreme and unpopular agenda in 2024, just like they did in 2020.”

Earlier in the day, surrogates for President Biden's reelection campaign suggested that all of the 2024 Republican options were MAGA extremists.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Fresh off Donald Trump's blowout victory, a jubilant Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had a biting message for the other 2024 Republican hopefuls.

“Denial is the first stage of grief,” Gaetz said in regards to Trump's rivals who are staying in.

Gaetz described Trump’s speech tonight as a “gentle indication for them to drop out and be in the warm embrace of MAGA.”

"It's been real. Don't tip your waitresses on the way out but this primary is over," he said when asked about his message for the other Republican presidential hopefuls.

Before coming to Trump's watch party, Gaetz was out visiting a caucus.

"People were having little debates with each other. And it was kind of adorable and Americana and political all at once without being caustic," he said.

One of his big takeaways was voter disdain for former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

“My God when her name was mentioned, there were sneers. And here's the number one feedback I got from caucus-goers — just to come in and tell President Trump to not pick her as his VP," he recalled.

Former President Donald Trump made head-turning pledges to "end crime" in major cities and "pay off" the $34 trillion national debt during his Iowa caucus victory speech.

"We're going to end crime in our cities," the 77-year-old ex-president said. "In Iowa you don't know what that means... you don't know about getting mugged and getting whacked and getting thrown into subways, and we're going to stop it and we're going to come down very hard on criminals."

Later in his remarks, Trump added, "We're also going to pay off the national debt. It's about time. It's about time."

Trump has for decades commanded headlines with bold claims. As president for four years, he added almost $8 trillion to the national debt, though some of that amount was the result of COVID-19 emergency spending.

The current national debt is greater than America's annual gross domestic product, which is less than $28 trillion, making it very difficult to pay off the debt within a brief period of time.