In the run-up to the debate, DeSantis and Haley have traded barbs with each other, guaranteeing that the bitter rivalry will be a key feature Wednesday night. But they won’t be competing for first place. They’ll be fighting for the role of top alternative candidate to former President Donald Trump.

Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP primary, was the only other candidate to meet CNN’s eligibility requirements for the primary debate, but he is snubbing the debate for a Fox News town hall that will directly compete with his rivals’ matchup.

DeSantis, who was once seen as Trump’s sole viable challenger and is battling against a surging Haley campaign, has struggled to gain momentum in national polling, which the former U.N. ambassador is quick to point out.

Haley repeatedly cites some polls showing her, unlike DeSantis, defeating President Joe Biden on the campaign trail. “Now, you look at any of those head-to-heads with Biden, any one of them,” said Haley during a Tuesday stop in Waukee, Iowa. “Ron doesn’t defeat Biden. Trump is head-to-head with Biden. On a good day, he’s up by two. Wall Street Journal had him up by four. I’m in every one of those same polls. And I defeat Biden by 17 points. Do you know what that means? That’s bigger than the presidency.”

Haley’s campaign has seized upon a Wall Street Journal poll released in December, in which Haley defeated Biden 51% to 34%.

But that poll doesn’t erase Trump’s lead in the GOP primary, not just in national polls but also in early nominating states. The latest RealClearPolitics Iowa poll average showed Trump at 52.3%, Haley at 16.3%, and DeSantis at 16%.

DeSantis, meanwhile, will likely slam Haley during the debate for recently claiming that New Hampshire voters will “correct” the Iowa caucuses.

“Her flippant comments and derogatory comments in New Hampshire saying that Iowans will be corrected by another state, you know, I think are very, very damaging,” DeSantis said. “Because I think it plays into this conceit about people in the middle of the country that somehow you know they don’t count or that they need to be corrected by other folks.”

DeSantis may also knock Haley over a recent gaffe she made over the origins of the Civil War, where she failed to mention slavery. Haley has since unequivocally stated slavery as the cause, but DeSantis, seeking to weaken Haley, could likely bring it up again.

As Haley and DeSantis excoriate one another on the debate stage, Trump will be setting himself apart as he navigates the Fox News town hall. He will once again have an unfettered opportunity to trash his two closest rivals without pushback from the candidates defending themselves.

The former president has not campaigned in Iowa to the same extent as DeSantis, who has visited all 99 Iowa counties, or Haley.

But his campaign is hoping that a rout during the Iowa caucuses will vanquish the Florida governor’s 2024 campaign and snuff momentum from Haley’s campaign before the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary.

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In a sign of Haley’s increasing threat to DeSantis, the former president has shifted his attention in recent weeks to attacking her instead of his usual diatribes against DeSantis.

“Nikki Haley, who said I was a great President and that she would ‘never run against me,’ just stated that I ‘should not be kicked off the ballot’ and that she ‘will beat me fair and square.’ Her only problem is, a new Morning Consult poll that just came out has me leading her by 43 points in Iowa,” Trump bragged on Truth Social, his social media platform, Monday evening. “Also, interestingly, I’ve gone up 8 points, and she’s only gone up 4, but Ron DeSanctimonious has gone down by 4–Could be the end of the line for Ron.”