HOW TO WATCH WINNOWING OF THE FIELD
Leading Republican presidential candidates will gather at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa on Dec. 6 for the fourth primary debate ahead of the Iowa Republican caucuses, which are Jan. 15, 2024.
While former president and leading Republican candidate Donald Trump is skipping the event, and has polling showing he is still at about 60% support from Republican voters, there are four candidates who have probably met the Republican National Committee’s qualifications.
Five candidates appeared at the last debate, but since then, South Carolina Sen.Tim Scott has dropped, leaving Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and possibly former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is still a wild card.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are still in the race but did not make the cut for the third debate and are not being considered as possibilities for Wednesday’s event.
Christie claims he hit the donor threshold required by the GOP for the Dec. 6 debate, but it is not clear if polls that show he has more than 6% support from Republican voters are the polls that are going to meet the Republican National Committee’s criteria.
Trump has scheduled a fundraiser for the same timeframe; he has not attended any of the debates but has held rallies instead.
The debate, scheduled for two hours, airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time, 4 p.m. Alaska time, on the cable channel NewsNation, and will be moderated by former Fox News and NBC host Megyn Kelly, NewsNation anchor Elizabeth Vargas, and Washington Free Beacon Editor-in-Chief Eliana Johnson.
Viewers can watch it online at NewsNation’s website and on the NewsNation app. It can also be seen on Rumble.com.
