Voters want to hear other candidates at the Republican debate in Milwaukee. But Trump looms large.

WILMOT – Ask Leslie Lauersdorf who she's backing for president and she answers with a quip and a smile: "I'll give you three guesses."

Even though Lauersdorf's favored candidate, former President Donald Trump, won't be in Milwaukee for Wednesday night's Republican presidential primary debate, the 71-year-old retiree from Racine will still tune in.

And she has a blunt command for those who will take the stage at Fiserv Forum.

"I don't want to hear B.S," she said.

Lauersdorf said she wants to hear the candidates dig into the issues, including the economy and border security.

"We've got to stop inflation," she said. "We've got to stop this illegal immigration."

Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier will be moderating the debate and directing the questions. Even though Trump has said he won't be attending, the moderators have indicated he'll be a topic during the two-hour event.

More: Milwaukee gears up for Republican primary debate some see as dry run for 2024 RNC

But what do voters, specifically Republicans eager to get their first major look at the candidates, want to hear?

According to a recent CBS News/YouGov survey, likely GOP primary voters say it's very important to hear about plans to lower inflation, reduce violent crime and stop illegal immigration.

And 91% said Trump's opponents should focus more on making the case for themselves with just 9% saying the candidates should focus more on making the case against Trump.

Roughly three-quarters of likely GOP primary voters thought Trump should participate. The survey was taken before Trump said he was skipping the event.

Either way, it seems Trump is still on a lot of voters' minds pre-debate.

Trump's name was everywhere Friday at the Dodge County Fair near Beaver Dam — on flags, on shirts, and in people's mouths. You could even take a picture with a towering inflatable Trump while listening to Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” blare from the speakers of a nearby booth selling pro-Trump merch.

Even those weighing other options couldn't resist talking about Trump.

“He sucks the air out of the room,” said Nate Pollnow, 45, of Reeseville. He worried a Trump appearance at the debate would have overshadowed other Republicans vying for attention.

A woman who gave her name as Marie, responded: "That's his persona." She thought he should attend anyway, his brash words and all. But her husband, Richard, piped in. “Maybe if he kept his mouth shut, he would be president right now.”

Pollnow was one of several people at the GOP booth exploring other options. Lori Hoffman, 60, a manufacturing worker from Watertown, was an unabashed fan of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"He gets things done, and he does it in a practical, positive way," Hoffman said, citing Florida laws passed under DeSantis that target employers who hire undocumented workers. "I got my 'Make America Florida' shirt right after that."

More: Do other Republicans have any chance against Trump? Here's what early polls can tell us.

Jack Yuds, Dodge County GOP chairman, still suspected "the guy whose last name starts with T" was leading the straw poll he and other party officials were running at the booth.

But much like a Marquette Law School poll from June that found Trump and DeSantis in a tight race among Republican and Republican-leaning independents in Wisconsin, both Yuds and Hoffman thought the race was tighter than advertised.

Over at the Kenosha County Fair in Wilmot, Trump was well ahead Friday afternoon in the straw poll results at the GOP booth.

Lauersdorf was among those sticking with Trump.

"I think he is the most outspoken person there is," she said. "He's not the most polished person but what he tells you is the way he feels. You don't get a lot of honey milk or buttermilk like you do with Ramaswamy."

She said Vivek Ramaswamy, the Ohio businessman, "is very smooth. He blends in like a chameleon."

She said DeSantis has a chance but that "he has to learn. He could do very well learning from Trump because Trump ran into all the snakes the first time."

Asked about former Vice President Mike Pence, Lauersdorf said, "I would probably vote for the devil first. The man has no backbone."

Lauersdorf's husband, David Adam, 66, a retired electrician, had two questions he'd like to hear the candidates answer.

"Would you get gas prices back down to where they were? And would you get the interest rates back down?" he said.

For Julie Bennett, 27, a mother-of-three from Salem, the most pressing issues she wants to hear discussed are "the right to bear arms and then probably the most important would be the right to life, protecting unborn children."

Bennett said she has been following the race and likes DeSantis and his policies.

"I feel like he gets things done and he does it in a respectful manner," she said.

Without naming names, she said some of the other candidates have done good jobs, while others have not.

"Some of them are a little too divisive and would not be the best option to repair our country," she said.

State Rep. Amanda Nedweski, a Republican from Pleasant Prairie, said she'd like to hear the candidates discuss "their plans on the economy and what they're planning to do to battle inflation going forward."

She said she's "totally open-minded" on the candidates and will support whoever wins the primary. She said people are just now tuning into the race.

"I think people are having a little bit of election burnout right now and are not necessarily jumping right in," she said. "But I think the debate here in southeastern Wisconsin will fire some of that up and get people more interested again. And they'll get back on the candidate path looking into finding out what they want to hear from candidates."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Voters want to hear candidates' ideas at GOP presidential debate