Who will be on stage at the fourth Republican debate? The higher set of criteria imposed by the Republican National Committee could narrow the field.
The next debate, organized by the Republican National Committee (RNC), will be held on Dec. 6 at the Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa.
The debate will be broadcast by NextStar Media Inc.’s NewsNation and simulcast on The CW at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Elizabeth Vargas, anchor of NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Megyn Kelly, host of “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM, and Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon, are scheduled to moderate, according to a NewsNation release.
Requirements are higher for the fourth debate, which could keep some candidates off the stage.
According to the RNC, the debaters will need to meet a threshold of 6 percent support in two national polls or 6 percent in one national poll and 6 percent in two of the first states on the primary calendar: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina. Polls must be conducted after Sept. 15 and before Dec. 4.
Moreover, debaters must present evidence to the RNC no later than 48 hours before the event that they have at least 80,000 unique donors and at least 200 unique donors per state or U.S. territory.
On Nov. 28, RNC officials contacted by The Epoch Times declined to say who would qualify. Carly Shanahan, a spokeswoman for NewsNation, said the RNC will put out a list of candidates who will be participating next week.
Donald Trump
President Trump, the frontrunner, continues to skip the debates and has questioned their necessity. Furthermore, he is technically disqualified since he has not signed an RNC candidate pledge requiring his support of the eventual GOP nominee.Currently, President Trump’s Truth Social account and official campaign website do not indicate he is planning on attending the debate. Instead, on his social media account, he is celebrating his wide lead in the polls.
The latest national poll, published by Morning Consult on Nov. 28, said President Trump leads the national field with the support of 64 percent of likely primary voters. The same poll placed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 14 percent, Ms. Haley at 10 percent, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 6 percent, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3 percent. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum both polled at 1 percent.
The latest poll comparing the most likely nominees—President Trump and President Joe Biden—conducted by HarrisX handicapped the bout at a 4 percent advantage for President Trump.
From a finance standpoint, President Trump leads his GOP rivals in fundraising by a wide margin, too.
Nikki Haley
Ms. Haley is gaining further interest from fundraisers and Republican boosters with crucial endorsements from Americans for Prosperity and JP Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29. She should be a lock for the debate.The latest national polls show Ms. Haley narrowly trailing Mr. DeSantis. Along with 10 percent support in the Morning Consult poll, Ms. Haley was listed with 9 percent support in an Emerson College Polling national poll published on Nov. 22.
Ron DeSantis
In an email to The Epoch Times, Gabby Wiggins, a spokeswoman for the DeSantis campaign, said Mr. DeSantis has reached the donor threshold and “qualified for the fourth debate.”Gov. DeSantis meets the polling goal with his support in the Harris poll as well as 8 percent support in the Emerson poll.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, a persistent critic of RNC leadership, can make a strong case to appear on the debate stage based on his polling figures.Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Ramaswamy campaign, said her candidate received confirmation from NewsNation that Mr. Ramaswamy will be on stage. Moreover, she said the candidate has more than 150,000 unique donors backing him.
The Morning Consult poll, as well as a poll published by Fox News, which indicated 7 percent support among likely Republican primary voters, both placed him above the 6 percent national threshold.
Chris Christie
Mr. Christie has publicly announced he qualified for the fourth debate. However, he has never met the 6 percent national support threshold required by the RNC, according to a compilation of polls published by RealClearPolitics.In addition, Mr. Christie does not have the early state support required by the RNC, according to RealClearPolitics.
In New Hampshire, where Mr. Christie is currently focusing his campaign, he is polling well ahead of Mr. DeSantis. The last poll, published on Nov. 17 by Monmouth University, placed his support at 11 percent among likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State.
Despite this, Mr. Christie is not getting the needed support in Iowa, South Carolina, or Nevada in the currently available polls.
Mr. Christie lagged his rival significantly in fundraising, according to the October FEC report. His committee—Chris Christie for President Inc.—brought in $5.4 million in total receipts on the strength of 5,442 contributions.
