DES MOINES, Iowa — Debate drama overtook the race for the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday as the contenders moved on to New Hampshire from Iowa.

ABC News announced it would cancel its scheduled Thursday debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced she would only appear onstage with GOP front-runner Donald Trump or President Biden — not solely with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — as the Trump rivals lick their wounds following their blowout loss to the former president in the Hawkeye State.

“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a morning 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.”

DeSantis quickly fired back, saying Haley was “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.

“The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump’s VP,” DeSantis added on X. “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.”

However, Haley stuck to her guns, and ABC News announced just after 5 p.m. that the forum would not happen.

“Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race,” a spokesperson said. “As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire.”

Trump, Haley and DeSantis are all still eligible to take part in a scheduled CNN debate on Sunday, two days ahead of the Jan. 23 first-in-the-nation primary.

Haley and DeSantis previously squared off Jan. 10 at Drake University in Des Moines.

Trump, 77, has skipped all five debates so far, citing his massive polling lead.

DeSantis traveled to South Carolina Tuesday morning before heading on to New Hampshire for a CNN town hall in the evening.

The visit to the first-in-the-South primary state is an indication that the Florida governor has his sights set on competing with Haley on her home turf — where she’s polling in a distant second place behind Trump — rather than in New Hampshire, where DeSantis’ support has plummeted in recent months.

At a news conference at the State Capitol in Columbia, DeSantis touted his social conservative credentials, telling legislators and reporters: “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.’

“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.”

Both DeSantis and Haley face an uphill path to wrest the GOP nomination from Trump after he bested DeSantis by almost 30 points in Iowa, the most lopsided margin of victory in the modern history of the Republican caucuses, dating back to 1976.

However, both rivals have vowed to keep up the fight.

“It’s a long haul for delegates,” DeSantis told ABC News. “These early states are proportional anyways, so we’re mindful of that. We’re competing in Nevada against Donald Trump, Nikki Haley is not, she did not sign up for the caucus. I think you gotta accumulate delegates.”

The Florida governor had previously said he was hoping to “win” in Iowa, where his campaign had devoted much of its time and resources.

After his distant second-place finish, DeSantis reframed the race as having given him and Trump the only “two tickets” out of Iowa.

Meanwhile, Haley’s campaign argued that Trump will have a more difficult time in the next two primary states.

“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. That never happened in the 2016 nominating contest, when a larger field allowed Trump to win many primaries with pluralities rather than majorities,” Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney said in a statement.

Per the RealClearPolitics average, Haley is polling at 29.3% in New Hampshire, compared to Trump’s 43.5%. Before former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (averaging 11.3% support) dropped out Jan. 10, DeSantis was polling in fourth at 6.5%.

The polls may change given Iowa’s results. In a New Hampshire survey released Tuesday, American Research Group — the most consistently pro-Haley pollster — showed her and Trump tied with 40% support among likely Republican primary voters.

DeSantis, meanwhile, polled at 4%, tied with now-former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and behind “Undecided,” which is how 9% of respondents listed themselves.

Biotech mogul Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the race Monday night, has endorsed Trump and said he would campaign with him in New Hampshire.

Haley, meanwhile, rallied supporters Tuesday night alongside Granite State Gov. Chris Sununu, her top surrogate on the campaign trail.