The Republican National Committee will not play a role in further 2024 GOP primary debates, the RNC said Friday. The party has held four debates, and has winnowed down the candidates to five for the fourth debate, which took place on Wednesday. But with frontrunner Donald Trump skipping all the debates, the viewership has been declining.
4.1 million viewers watched the fourth Republican presidential debate, including 1.6 million on NewsNation and 2.5 million on the CW Network, according to Nielsen, a ratings service. It was a 47% drop in viewership from the third debate, Nov. 8. It was, however, a record night for NewsNation.
The first debate in August drew 12.8 million viewers.
There still may be debates, but they would need to be sponsored by another group and time is of the essence. The Republican Party of Iowa holds presidential caucuses on Jan. 15 and the New Hampshire primary is Jan. 23.
