In front of their largest audience, what do Haley, Scott need to do in the first GOP debate?

South Carolina’s two presidential candidates, former Gov. Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, will be on stage with six other candidates Wednesday looking to gain traction and a springboard in the polls as they vie for the Republican nomination.

As the two hopefuls have been speaking at town halls in early voting states, Wednesday’s debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee will be televised on Fox News to an audience of thousands, if not millions.

So far polling as underdogs in the crowded Republican field, both Scott and Haley will be looking for a breakout moment on the national stage Wednesday to help raise the profile of their candidacies.

Haley and Scott are scheduled to be on stage with former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as they aim to show their candidacies are viable.

Former President Donald Trump, who has a double-digit lead in the polls, won’t be on the debate stage Wednesday, instead opting to release a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

It remains to be seen which of the candidates outside of Christie and Hutchinson will go on the attack against Trump. The other main target for most candidates most likely will be DeSantis. Aiming to usurp DeSantis from second place is a key step in moving on in the race.

“They got to do something to sort of break out. Whether it’s making an argument about electability, taking on President Trump, there needs to be something people remember them for in the debate,” said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.

The South Carolinians in the race are polling in single digits nationally and will look to have a positive memorable moment, while avoiding making mistakes. However, they are performing better in polls taken in the early-voting Palmetto State, which have shown Haley and Scott in double digits.

“The making of the moment is having a good one-liner, have a good comeback to somebody. It’s going to be really hard because there’s going to be a decent number of people on the stage,” Knotts said.

Expect Scott to promote his conservative voting record and his personal story, and Haley to highlight her executive experience and foreign policy experience serving as the ambassador to the United Nations, Knotts said.

The race for the GOP nomination for president can’t be won at the first debate — but it can be lost. The minimal goal will be to survive and advance.

Candidates will be looking to avoid a Rick Perry-type “oops” moment, such when the former Texas governor said in a 2011 debate he wanted to cut three federal agencies but only named two.

“You don’t want to blow it in a debate either (with) some gaffe that you kind of become known for. You want to make sure you do everything you can to minimize that,” Knotts said.

How they’re preparing

Scott has been preparing for the debate with a small circle of people: Republican adviser Mari Will, Campaign Manager Jennifer DeCasper, Communications Director Nathan Brand and Blake Harris, a Scott campaign adviser.

“The most important thing you can do to be ready for the debate stage is to be comfortable in your own skin, know what you want to talk about in advance, certainly, but focus not on trying to make points but focus on sharing the philosophy that has driven this nation to be the only city on the hill, the beacon in the midst of the storm,” Scott said during a recent Fox News interview.

Expect Scott to bring his optimistic message to the stage.

“Tim Scott will share his positive, conservative message on the debate stage in Milwaukee,” a Scott campaign spokeswoman said in a statement. “This debate is another opportunity to connect with millions of voters across the country and show why Tim has faith in America and why he is the strongest candidate to beat Joe Biden.”

Haley has been holding town halls in early primary states, where in addition to her standard stump speech, she has taken questions from voters.

“Nikki’s been preparing for six months on the campaign trail answering unscripted questions from voters across New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina,” a Haley adviser said. “She’s not afraid of the hard questions. She’ll always fight for what she believes in.”

It may take a week or two to judge how well the presidential hopefuls connected with viewers, such as through fundraising bumps or a change the polls in the days or immediate week after the debate.

In recent appearances, Haley has been telling voters not to worry about the summer polling numbers.

“When you look at the numbers in the polls, I am very comfortable with where we are because we haven’t spent anything. Because everybody’s on vacation and their kids are out of school. Guess what? The first debate is in August,” Haley said at a July stop in Greenville. “Aug. 23, we’ve got our first debate in Wisconsin. In September, we’ve got our second debate at Reagan Library. You will start to see things shift post Labor Day.”