Candidates focus on getting their messages across in Iowa during Fox News undercard debate

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, and Carly Fiorina met during the Fox News undercard debate Thursday night, and fielded questions from moderators Martha MacCallum and Bill Hemmer regarding national security, the scale of government, and "New York values," among other issues.

Huckabee scoffed at the idea of caring about what people in New York think about him and having a "New York-funded campaign," saying he is "not bankrolled by the corporatists, I'm not bankrolled by Goldman Sachs and Citibank and AIG, all the big brokerage houses, and the billionaires." He shared that he's backed by people like "Thomas, a part-time Uber driver in Pennsylvania who sent me $25 this week." Later, Huckabee got in a dig against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), saying he doesn't "understand how anybody with IQ above plant life would honestly think we would be better off if we let government have all the private property and the government would dole out what it thought we should have. I'm not 'feeling the Bern.' I'm not feeling it when Bernie Sanders promises these kids free college. If we give you free college when you're 20, you'll be paying for it when you're 30, 40, and 50."

Fiorina took an opportunity to criticize President Obama, saying "climate change is not our most pressing national security threat, actually it is ISIS, followed closely by Iran, and those two things are linked. So when our president cozies up to Iran, all of our allies in the Middle East, who are ready to help us defeat ISIS, wonder whose side we're on. The truth is, under this president, we're on Iran's side." Gilmore accused the media of "manipulating and changing and framing this campaign," and questioned why he wasn't getting asked more questions, while Santorum thanked the people of Iowa for allowing him to give more than 700 speeches in the state. "You're good people," he said. "You know good leaders. Pick the right person, not what the polls say."

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