Four candidates have qualified for the fourth GOP presidential primary debate taking place Wednesday night in Alabama, the Republican National Committee and debate broadcaster NewsNation announced Monday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will face off in Tuscaloosa in what will be the smallest debate stage lineup so far this year. Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, will skip the event, as he has all previous debates and will instead attend a fundraiser in Florida for a super PAC supporting his candidacy.
Monday’s announcement comes with just six weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses open the 2024 GOP nomination calendar and as DeSantis and Haley compete fiercely to be seen as the top primary rival to Trump.
To make the Tuscaloosa stage, candidates had to meet higher donor and polling criteria set by the Republican National Committee. They had to have at least 80,000 unique donors, with at least 200 in 20 states or territories. They also had to register at least 6%