GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has accepted an invitation to be at a debate in Iowa hosted by CNN.
The debate is on Jan. 10, just five days before the Iowa Caucus.
“The first four debates have been great for our campaign and for voters, and we look forward to the fifth in Iowa,” said Ms. Haley in a statement on Dec. 15.
“As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide,” she continued, referring to the former president, whom she served under as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
President Trump, who is dominating in the polls, has not been at any of the GOP primary debates.
The Republican National Committee on Dec. 8 voted to allow its presidential candidates to participate in unsanctioned debates. Previously, the RNC’s pledge, which was signed by those who have been on the debate stages, prohibited the candidates from partaking in debates unsanctioned by the RNC.
To qualify for the Iowa debate, which will be at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, candidates must, among numerous criteria, be at 10 percent in three separate Hawkeye State or national polls of GOP voters.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he will at least be in the debate in the Hawkeye State.
“Looking forward to debating in Iowa!” he posted.
In addition to the polling criteria, other requirements include being a U.S. citizen, filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, and consenting to the debate rules.
The CNN debate in Iowa is in addition to another one hosted by the network but in New Hampshire ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23.
For the second debate, which will be at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, candidates must poll at 10 percent in three separate Granite State or national polls of GOP voters, in addition to meeting other requirements.
It is unlikely President Trump will participate in the CNN debates, given that he has opted out of all debates thus far. In addition, he’s been openly disdainful of the network, which he has called “fake news,” though he participated in June in a testy town hall hosted by CNN and moderated by anchor Kaitlan Collins.
The moderators of the CNN debates have yet to be announced.
Nonetheless, the debates have resulted in decreasing ratings as President Trump, the GOP frontrunner, has not taken the stage in any of the debates.
The latest debate hosted by NewsNation set the record for the least-watched debate so far in the primary, even though it was the most-watched program in the fledging network’s history.
There were 1.59 million people who watched the debate on NewsNation, while 2.62 million tuned into the simulcast on the CW, the network’s sister station, according to Nielsen.
According to Nielsen, just over 12.8 million people tuned in to the first primary debate—hosted by Fox News on Aug. 23—with more than 2.8 million of them between the ages of 25 and 54, while the second one, on Sept. 27 on Fox Business Network, garnered 9.5 million viewers, 2 million of whom were in the 25–54 age range.
