Nikki Haley’s Republican rivals are ramping up their attacks on her as Iowa’s caucuses near

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nikki Haley’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination are ratcheting up their attacks on her as Iowa’s first-in-the-nation voting draws closer.

The barbed news releases, attack ads and amped up back-and-forth come as the former South Carolina governor and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis battle for a distant second place to former President Donald Trump with less than two weeks until Iowa’s leadoff caucuses.

For months, Trump has trained his focus on DeSantis, who has long argued that he’s the party’s best chance at unseating Trump from atop the field. But in recent weeks, Trump’s campaign has increasingly shifted its target to Haley, calling her a “sellout” and criticizing her stances on taxes and the U.S.-Mexico border.

Her campaign on Thursday said Trump’s attention to Haley, who served as his United Nations ambassador, reflects his concern that she is gaining on him.

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