Wednesday night’s fourth GOP primary debate will feature the smallest field — with only four candidates qualified for the showdown in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all met the minimum benchmarks for the debate, the Republican National Committee announced Monday night.
The debate will be held on Wednesday at 7pm CT at the University of Alabama.
It will be hosted by NewsNation and moderated by anchor Elizabeth Vargas, podcast host and SiriusXM radio personality Megyn Kelly and Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson.
The RNC requires candidates to get at least 6% support in two national polls, up from 4% — or 6% support in one national poll and one early state poll from two separate early states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
The benchmark also requires 2024 candidates to receive at least 80,000 donors with at least 200 unique donors in 20 states/territories.
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley raises her hand to Vivek Ramaswamy as she speaks with him as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (C) listens during the Republican Presidential Primary Debate in Miami. Getty Images Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks at the Hudson Institute November 15, 2023. Getty Images
It was unclear whether Christie qualified for the debate given his poll numbers, but the former governor managed to muster enough traction to join the other candidates on stage.
Christie polled very high in New Hampshire, reaching 11.3%, good enough for third place behind Trump (45.7%) and Haley (18.7%), according to RealClearPolitics average data.
Former President Donald Trump will skip the forum, in line with his track record for every other 2024 debate so far. Instead, he will hold a closed-door fundraiser Wednesday night and will hold a town hall with Sen. Hannity of Fox News Tuesday night, a source close to the Trump campaign told The Post.
Trump leads the Republican nominee by more than 40 points, and has previously stated that the RNC should postpone all future debates to focus on defeating President Biden.
Haley and Ramaswamy engaged in a verbal spat in the final debate over TikTok and her daughter. AP DeSantis and Ramaswamy before last month’s debate in Miami. AP
The small number of debate candidates indicates a narrowing of the field, as several White House candidates and former debaters have dropped out of the race.
Since the third GOP debate in Miami, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) has suspended his campaign after failing to garner high turnout and sufficient funding.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum announced the suspension of his campaign on Monday after not qualifying for the stage.
Other candidates who have dropped out of the race include former Vice President Mike Pence, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Rep. Texas Will Hurd, radio host Larry Elder and businessman Perry Johnson.
Former President Donald Trump tosses his hat to the crowd during a caucus event, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. AP
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Ryan Binkley are still in the running, despite falling short of the mark for the debate stage.
Hutchinson was unsuccessful in his qualifying bid after the first debate, and Binkley never met the criteria.
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