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As the GOP primary continues to play out, the remaining candidates have no choice but to go after one another. It's a simple yet effective strategy of narrowing down the competition and boosting their own chances of winning the nomination.

This explains why former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie keeps hitting former President Trump, along with other Republican candidates who he views as too scared to criticize the former president.

The same strategy explains why former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is increasingly clashing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. As of late, headbutting between DeSantis and Haley in particular has significantly escalated.

Here's what's going on

Weeks after DeSantis scored a campaign endorsement from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Haley secured her own endorsement from Americans For Prosperity. The latter came after Haley also landed in hot water for stating as president, she'd ensure Americans could only use social media by posting with their legal names attached to their accounts.

The DeSantis team and other Republicans slammed this as government overreach and hostile to the First Amendment. Haley's furthermore come under fire from the Florida governor for refusing to agree to a one-on-one debate against him that Fox News host Laura Ingraham proposed.

On Wednesday, during her own appearance on Fox News, the former UN ambassador hit back. She rejected DeSantis dinging her as an "establishment" candidate by claiming he's "grasping" in the race.

Haley also renounced the allegation by characterizing herself as a "Tea Party" contender during her previous successful run for South Carolina's governorship.

Here's what to expect moving forward

One week from today, both Haley and DeSantis will join other qualifying GOP contenders for the fourth primary debate.

All things considered, it's very likely these two will clash with one another yet again. There's also a high chance of Ramaswamy going after Haley, as he's made a habit of doing in previous debates.

Tomorrow, Americans can tune into Fox News to see DeSantis in a debate against California Gov. Gavin Newsom. This comes amid speculations that Democrats may consider bringing in Newsom to replace Biden as the party's 2024 nominee.