Everything you need to know about tonight’s GOP primary debate

Eight Republican presidential candidates will get the possibility to check their mettle throughout tonight’s first 2024 main debate. Right here’s what you have to know earlier than tuning in.

When and the place is the talk?

The 2-hour debate will happen on the Fiserv Discussion board in Milwaukee, Wis., beginning at 9 p.m. ET. A “Countdown to the Debate” program will air on Fox Information at 8:30 p.m. ET, hosted by Dana Perino and Invoice Hemmer.

How can I watch it?

Fox Information Channel will host the talk. It’s going to concurrently be broadcast on Fox Enterprise Community, FoxNews.com, Fox Nation and Rumble. 

Who’s moderating?

Fox Information chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” host Martha MacCallum will query the candidates.

Which candidates can be there?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will attend.

The Republican Nationwide Committee confirmed Monday that each one eight GOP presidential hopefuls had certified and can be located primarily based on their polling numbers, with candidates with probably the most assist positioned heart stage.

Which means the contenders will line up from left to proper as follows when considered from the viewers: Hutchinson, Christie, Pence, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley, Scott and Burgum.

What about Trump?

Frontrunner and former President Donald Trump introduced Sunday evening that he wouldn’t attend the talk, citing his “legendary” lead within the 2024 contest. Former Fox Information host Tucker Carlson will air a pre-recorded interview with Trump throughout the debate on X, previously generally known as Twitter.

A number of Trump surrogates — together with Donald Trump Jr. and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) — have mentioned they may attend.

Nonetheless, solely candidates who take part within the debate might carry surrogates into the post-event “spin room,” until they’re visitors of media organizations.

How did the candidates qualify?

The RNC required candidates to have at the least 40,000 distinctive particular person donors to their marketing campaign — and at the least 200 distinctive donors from every of 20 completely different states and territories — and to drag at the least 1% assist in three nationwide polls or two nationwide polls and two polls from certainly one of 4 early voting states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina.

It additionally requested the would-be nominees to signal a pledge committing to solely attend party-sanctioned debates and assist the eventual GOP nominee.

Which candidates didn’t qualify?

Miami Mayor Frances Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, conservative radio host Larry Elder, and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson didn’t qualify for the talk.

Suarez, Elder and Johnson introduced days earlier than the occasion that their campaigns had met donor and polling thresholds, however they apparently relied on polls that didn’t meet the RNC necessities. 

Elder and Johnson mentioned Tuesday they might sue the RNC over what they known as a “rigged” course of.

Hurd criticized the RNC for a “lack of transparency and confusion” across the debate standards, saying he promised to “not signal a blood oath to Donald Trump” with a view to be a candidate.

Two different declared candidates — Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley and former Cranston, RI Mayor Steve Laffey — additionally didn’t meet the RNC necessities.