By Allan Smith — NBC News
Four candidates — former President Donald Trump's main rivals — are on stage to take the presidential primary fight to a showdown Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the fourth Republican debate.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will participate in the latest fight. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who suspended his presidential campaign shortly after last month's debate, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will be absent after failing to qualify for the final two and dropping out of the race this week.
Trump, the undisputed leader in the presidential primary polls, will not participate in this debate either. With a lead of more than 20 points in the early states and nationally — which has increased or remained the same — he seems to see no reason to take on his rivals. Instead, he appeared Tuesday at a Fox News event and will hold a private fundraiser on Wednesday.
Republican presidential candidates, from left, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy.Getty Images
Without Trump, the ongoing battle for the second spot is sure to get even hotter, with Haley and DeSantis, the two vote-getters on stage, sure to take aim at each other in their bid to break away and roll in Iowa as the clear alternative to Trump.
With only four candidates on stage for the debate, which will take place at 8 p.m. ET, both are expected to get more speaking time than before, particularly without Scott, who had most of the time during the third matchup.
Moreover, this debate may be the last before the Iowa caucuses. At the moment, no other has been scheduled.
All eyes on Haley vs. DeSantis
The two main alternatives to Trump have spent the better part of the past two months attacking each other, trying to cement their status as the clear number two and trying to establish that they are ready to take on Trump.
That means much of their attention Wednesday won't be on the man they're trying to reach, but on the candidate they want to leave behind them.
Polls put DeSantis, long the top choice behind Trump, neck-and-neck in Iowa with Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while she leads DeSantis in both New Hampshire and her home state of South Carolina.
In the third debate there were fewer attacks between the two than observers of the process would have predicted at first, not least because Ramaswamy came out to confront them and received some of Haley's most stinging confrontations. But perhaps DeSantis honed his debating skills during a recent showdown with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and is more prepared to throw some punches on Wednesday.
Ramaswamy plans to be "brutally outspoken"
Ramaswamy's pugnacious strategy during the third debate did not seem to pay off in subsequent polls.
In any case, he has set the stage for a similar performance on Wednesday, telling reporters in Iowa on Saturday that he plans to bring the same "candor" to the Tuscaloosa stage.
"I was brutally frank in the last debate," he said. "I think this country needs more of that, not less."
Ramaswamy, who has aligned himself closely with Trump throughout the primary campaign, has also served as something of a surrogate for him on stage in early debates, with other candidates throwing memorable jabs at him in his bid to claim the mantle of outsider, particularly on foreign policy.
Last month, the businessman referred to both Haley and DeSantis as "Dick Cheney in 10-inch heels," suggesting their foreign policies were too bloodthirsty. After he later referred to Haley's daughter's use of the social media app TikTok, Haley, who has feuded with Ramaswamy in multiple debates, called him "scum."
However, every minute spent facing Ramaswamy is one less minute Haley or DeSantis have to separate from each other... or to confront Trump directly. Although Ramaswamy plans to be antagonistic again on stage, it is unknown whether his rivals will take the bait or choose to ignore him.
Moderators present a wild card
Wednesday's debate will be co-hosted by NewsNation, "The Megyn Kelly Show" on SiriusXM and The Washington Free Beacon, with Elizabeth Vargas, Megyn Kelly and Eliana Johnson serving as moderators.
Viewers may remember Kelly's questioning of Trump in a Fox News debate at the start of the 2016 GOP primary, after which he attacked her on social media.
Trump won't be on stage Wednesday night, so there won't be any kind of rematch. Each of the moderators comes from a different background, which is unusual — usually the moderators are from the same chain or the split is 2-to-1 — so it's worth watching their group dynamic play out.