Seven Republican presidential candidates are included in the Wednesday night Republican National Committee presidential debate, candidates determined through polling and fundraising strength. Former President Donald Trump will again not attend. He is the candidate who is polling far and away as the most likely nominee.
The debate stage candidates are:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
- Former Vice President Mike Pence
- Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
- South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not make the cut, after he failed to reach the threshold in polling.
DeSantis will have the center-stage podium, due to strength in polling and fundraising. Flanking DeSantis to his right and left will be Ramaswamy and Haley, who are in second and third place in many polls.
Candidates for this debate needed to show they have at least 50,000 unique donors, which includes more than 200 from 20Â states or territories. For the first debate, the requirement was 40,000 unique donors.
The debate will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and will air on Fox Business Network at 9 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Alaska Time.
The debate will be also be live-streamed exclusively on Rumble, which has brought out the long knives from competitors in online media and the mainstream media itself, which calls it a haven for disinformation and extremists:
