Republicans ready to rumble Wednesday during second 2024 presidential primary debate
The highly-anticipated second Republican presidential primary debate is set for Wednesday night in California, where seven candidates will present their vision for the future of the nation in the hopes of securing the GOP nomination.
The highly-anticipated second Republican presidential primary debate is set for Wednesday night in California, where seven presidential hopefuls will go to battle against each other in the contest for the GOP nomination.
The debate, which will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, will be televised on the FOX Business Network (FBN) and Univision from 9-11 p.m. ET.
DESANTIS STANDING CENTER STAGE BETWEEN HALEY AND RAMASWAMY AT 2ND GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
The White House contenders, in alphabetical order, are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; former Vice President Mike Pence; biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy; and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Standing at the center of the stage will be DeSantis, with Haley and Ramaswamy on either side of him.
Christie, who's making a second bid for the GOP presidential nomination, and Scott will be standing aside Haley and Ramaswamy. And standing on the wings of the debate stage will be Burgum and Pence.
A Republican National Committee (RNC) release from early June stated that "qualified candidates will be placed on stage according to polling, with the highest polling candidate in the center."
THESE SEVEN CANDIDATES WILL BE ON THE STAGE AT THE SECOND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DEBATE
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the second debate is "another opportunity for the RNC to share our diverse candidate field with the American people."
"The Republican Party is united around one common goal — Beating Biden — and there is no better place to showcase our conservative vision for the future than the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library," McDaniel said.
To participate in the second debate, candidates needed to reach polling and donor thresholds set by the RNC. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who qualified for the first debate in Milwaukee last month, did not qualify for Wednesday’s showdown. Hutchinson, though, says he will continue his campaign.
Candidates were also required to sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee.
Notably absent from the stage, again, will be former President Donald Trump, who holds a massive lead over the Republican primary field. Trump did not sign the pledge.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE FOR EACH OF THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THE DEBATE STAGE
The most recent Fox News poll shows 60% of Republican primary voters supporting Trump for the GOP nomination, up from 53% in the last survey in August.
The only other candidates to receive double-digit support in that poll are DeSantis at 13% and Ramaswamy at 11%.
Haley sits at 5%, with Pence and Scott at 3% each. Christie is polling at 2%, with the remaining GOP candidates receiving less than 1%.
DESANTIS STANDING CENTER STAGE BETWEEN HALEY AND RAMASWAMY AT 2ND GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
And according to a new Washington Post/ABC poll from over the weekend, Trump is currently leading President Biden by 10 points in a head-to-head general election survey among voters.
Meanwhile, Biden's approval rating sits at 37%, according to the poll, while 56% of respondents disapprove of his presidency.
Among those who failed to qualify for the second debate — and who also did not make the stage for the first debate — are 2022 Michigan gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson; former CIA agent and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas; and Larry Elder, a former nationally syndicated radio host who was a candidate in California's 2021 gubernatorial recall election.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez suspended his campaign after failing to qualify for the first debate.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.