前南卡罗莱纳州州长妮基·黑利和佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯周三晚上在爱荷华州举行的CNN辩论中准备就绪，几天后那里的党团会议将开始共和党初选。
据报道，哈利和德桑蒂斯都在竞争成为前总统唐纳德·特朗普的主要替代者，但两人在该州仍落后特朗普数十个百分点，在其他早期初选州的差距也不尽相同538的平均投票率.
他们预计的辩论冲突发生之际，哈利发现自己在民意调查中有点上升，同时也在努力应对最近来自她的一些竞选活动评论的争议，因为德桑蒂斯希望在竞选早期重新获得第二名的地位-希望下周在爱荷华州的强劲表现可以证明他在共和党选民中的支持。
周三晚上的辩论有三个看点。
会不会给川普一拳?
最近几周，哈利和德桑蒂斯都希望在竞选中打击川普，但与前竞争对手克里斯·克里斯蒂不同，他们都没有将批评作为竞选的核心内容。CNN的辩论可以提供一个机会直接瞄准他，或者，作为他的主要对手，一个接一个地攻击。
哈利称这位前总统(和她的前老板，作为他的联合国大使)是混乱的代理人，在各种事件中重复说，他是2016年的正确人选，但现在是选民翻过这一页的时候了。
“我同意他的许多政策。但是，不管是对是错，混乱伴随着他。你知道我是对的。但是我们不能让一个国家陷入混乱，一个世界着火，再经历四年的混乱。她周二在爱荷华州的竞选活动中告诉支持者。
与此同时，德桑蒂斯抨击特朗普回避所有的初选辩论，并告诉支持者，他在2025年入主白宫时不会那么有效。
“我们已经指出唐纳德·特朗普在他的快速球上失去了一些活力。时间之父是不败的。如果他能当选，他将是有史以来年龄最大的总统，”德桑蒂斯在12月说。
尽管如此，两人都在特朗普的法律纠纷中为他辩护(他否认所有这些)，哈利一再拒绝直接排除在特朗普连任白宫副总统的可能性。
德桑蒂斯和哈利也表示，如果特朗普被判犯有任何联邦罪行，如果他们当选总统，他们将赦免特朗普。
“我不会玩我对手的游戏，然后让你们在两三天内制造一个故事。不，我想谈谈经济。我想谈谈教育。我想谈谈边界，”上周，当被问及她拒绝明确回答她是否会考虑与特朗普一起竞选的问题时，哈利说。
海莉能忘掉最近的失态吗?
尽管有一些民意测验的势头，特别是在新罕布什尔州，哈利一直在努力应对最近在竞选中的失态。
第一个，也可以说是最大的一个失误是上个月，她最初没有将奴隶制作为内战的原因。这位前南卡罗来纳州州长后来说，她知道奴隶制导致了内战，并坚持认为这是一个既定的事实，没有必要提及。
后来在新罕布什尔州，她建议举行第二次初选提名竞争的州“纠正”爱荷华州党团会议的结果。根据538的平均民调，海利在爱荷华州落后特朗普约35个百分点，而她在新罕布什尔州落后特朗普约12个百分点。类似地，她后来说“爱荷华州开始了，你改变个性，你进入新罕布什尔州，他们继续下去。”
德桑蒂斯继续攻击，暗示哈利还没有准备好黄金时间。
“Haley贬低了党团会议，侮辱了你，”DeSantis在爱荷华州的竞选活动中的一则广告中的旁白说道。
海莉驳斥了这些指责，称她只是在开玩笑，并提到了自己作为早期初选州前州长的身份。
前驻联合国大使妮基·黑利和佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯在大学参加了由NewsNation主办的2024年总统竞选第四次共和党候选人辩论...显示更多undefined
布莱恩·斯奈德/路透社
但一些政治专家表示，这些失误损害了海利的竞选，因为它们分散了选民对她的宣传的注意力。
“不管她有什么动力，我认为这种动力会让她慢下来。现在，看，我仍然认为，在一天结束时，那些正在寻找川普替代者的人——她是那个名单上有吸引力的一员，”曾为前副总统迈克·彭斯现已暂停的总统竞选工作的齐普·索特斯曼说。
德桑蒂斯有多激进——针对谁?
德桑蒂斯可能会对特朗普发起攻击，但预计他也会试图削弱海利的崛起，以巩固他在爱荷华州和其他地方的微弱优势，尽管海利在新罕布什尔州已经变得更具优势。
他取得平衡的方式可能会证明他有先见之明，知道他如何看待自己在党团会议州的道路，以及在较小程度上在新罕布什尔州的道路，他在新罕布什尔州仍陷于个位数，以538票排名第五。
这位州长将更多的愤怒集中在海莉身上，表明她与保守派步调不一，由华尔街的民主党人提供资金，还没有准备好迎接强光，以及其他更注重政策的移民和汽油税争议。哈利称他的攻击是虚假的。
与此同时，德桑蒂斯批评特朗普拒绝上台面对问题，正如德桑蒂斯所声称的那样，他没有在白宫的四年里那样有效。(特朗普经常用讽刺的绰号解雇德桑蒂斯，并嘲笑他的支持水平较低。)
最近，德桑蒂斯希望将哈利和特朗普联系在一起，将自己塑造成竞选中唯一一个致力于倡导共和党选民心中的事业的候选人。
“特朗普在为他的问题竞选。海莉在为她的捐款人问题奔走。我为你的问题而竞选，”德桑蒂斯上周在爱荷华州的CNN市政厅说，他的竞选团队在网上和广告中传播了这一评论。
3 things to watch for in the Nikki Haley-Ron DeSantis Republican debate
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are squaring off at a CNN debate in Iowa on Wednesday night, just days before the caucuses there start the Republican primary race.
Both Haley and DeSantis are vying to be the main alternative to former President Donald Trump but both still remain tens of points behind Trump in the state and by varying margins in other early primary states, according to538's polling averages.
Their expected debate clash comes as Haley finds herself on a bit of an upswing in the polls while also grappling with recent controversy from some of her campaign trail comments as DeSantis looks to regain his footing as the No. 2 from earlier in the race -- hoping a strong finish in Iowa next week can prove his support with GOP voters.
Here are three things to watch in Wednesday night's debate.
Will either try to land a punch on Trump?
Both Haley and DeSantis have looked to hit Trump on the trail in recent weeks, though neither -- unlike former rival Chris Christie -- has made that criticism a centerpiece of their campaigns. The CNN debate could offer an opportunity to directly target him or, instead, go after one another as his main opponent.
Haley has dubbed the former president (and her old boss, as his U.N. ambassador) an agent of chaos, repeating in various events that he was the right person to back in 2016 but that it's now time for voters to turn the page.
"I agree with a lot of his policies. But, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him. You know I'm right. But we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won't survive it," she told supporters at a campaign stop in Iowa on Tuesday.
DeSantis, meanwhile, has knocked Trump for ducking all of the primary debates and told supporters that he would not be as effective in the White House come 2025.
"We have pointed out that Donald Trump has lost some zip on his fastball. That Father Time is undefeated. That he would be the oldest president ever elected if he could get elected," DeSantis said in December.
Still, both have also defended Trump throughout his legal troubles (all of which he denies), and Haley has repeatedly declined to directly rule out the prospect of serving as Trump's vice president should he clinch another term in the White House.
Both DeSantis and Haley have also said they would pardon Trump if he was convicted of any federal crime and if they were elected president.
"I'm not playing my opponents' game and then have you guys make a story of it for two to three days. No, I want to talk about the economy. I want to talk about education. I want to talk about the borders," Haley said last week when asked about her refusal to definitively answer the question of if she'd consider running alongside Trump on his ticket.
Can Haley put recent gaffes behind her?
Haley, despite some polling momentum, particularly in New Hampshire, has grappled with recent gaffes on the trail.
The first, and arguably biggest, stumble was last month when she did not initially cite slavery as a cause of the Civil War. The former South Carolina governor later said that she knew slavery caused the Civil War and insisted that it was such a given that it needed not be mentioned.
Later in New Hampshire, she suggested that the state, which holds the second nominating contest of the primary, would "correct" the results from Iowa's caucuses. Haley is some 35 points behind Trump in Iowa, according to 538's polling average, while she trails Trump by about 12 points in New Hampshire. Similarly, she later said that "Iowa starts it, you change personalities, you go into New Hampshire, and they continue it on."
DeSantis went on the attack, suggesting Haley isn't ready for prime time.
"Haley disparages the caucuses and insults you," a narrator says in an ad from DeSantis' campaign that is running in Iowa.
Haley has dismissed the barbs, saying she was only having fun, noting her own status as a former governor of a fellow early primary state.
But some political experts said the slips harmed Haley's campaign in that they took attention away from her pitch to voters.
"Whatever momentum she had, I think it kind of slowed it down. Now, look, I still think at the end of the day, the people that are looking for an alternative to Trump -- she's an attractive member of that list," said Chip Saltsman, who worked on former Vice President Mike Pence's now-suspended presidential campaign.
How aggressive is DeSantis -- and against whom?
DeSantis will likely take his share of shots at Trump, but he's expected to also try to undercut Haley's rise to solidify his tenuous hold on second place in Iowa and elsewhere, even as Haley has become much more ascendant in New Hampshire.
The way he strikes that balance could prove prescient as to how he views his path in the caucus state and, to a lesser extent, New Hampshire, where he remains mired in the single digits and in fifth place, per 538.
The governor has focused more ire on Haley, suggesting that she is out of step with conservatives, bankrolled by Democrats on Wall Street and not ready for the bright lights, among other more policy-focused disputes over immigration and gas tax. Haley calls his attacks false.
Meanwhile, DeSantis has criticized Trump for declining to take the stage and face questions and for, as DeSantis claims, not being as effective as during his four years in the White House. (Trump regularly dismisses DeSantis with sarcastic nicknames and ridicules his lower level of support.)
More recently, DeSantis has looked to tie Haley and Trump together, casting himself as the only candidate in the race dedicated to advocating for causes near to Republican voters' hearts.
"Trump is running for his issues. Haley is running for her donors' issues. I'm running for your issues," DeSantis said in a CNN town hall last week in Iowa, a comment that his campaign has circulated online and in ads.
