[applause] live from drake university in des moines, iowa, this is the cnn republican presidential debate. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world, watching us on cnn, cnn max, cnn international, cnn en español, and cnn. com. good evening, i m jake tapper, motoring tonight s debate, alongside my friend and colleague dana bash. and just five days from now, voters here in iowa will cast the first votes of the 2024 presidential race. tonight, the very first one-on-one matchup between top contenders, governor ron desantis and former governor and u. n. ambassador nikki haley. former president trump met the requirements for tonight s debate, but declined to participate. our commitment in this debate is to provide as much information as possible to voters, especially here in iowa, before the first contests begin next week. so in choosing topics, we focused on the issues important to republicans. let s bring out the candidates now. please