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 to 538'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.