First Republican Debate is Wednesday; Trump not Expected to Participate

The first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle will take place this Wednesday, August 23, at 9:00 PM Eastern Time, in Milwaukee. It will be televised on Fox News, and moderated by anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. 

Not coincidentally, given the battleground nature of the state, Milwaukee is also the site of the party's 2024 convention, scheduled for July 15 through 18.

Note: The information below was updated on August 20, after Asa Hutchinson said he had qualified. The polling averages were also updated to include a CBS/YouGov poll released that morning.

According to Politico, ten candidates have met the polling and fundraising requirements to participate in the first Republican debate. 

The list includes the following, ordered by the 270toWin national polling average as of noon on August 19. Donald Trump, well ahead in the polling, is not expected to participate.

• Donald Trump (57.2%), former President
• Ron DeSantis (13.6%), Florida Governor
• Vivek Ramaswamy (6.0%), businessman
• Mike Pence (4.2%), former Vice-President
• Chris Christie (4.0%), former New Jersey Governor
• Tim Scott (2.8%), U.S. Senator, South Carolina
• Nikki Haley (2.6%), former UN Ambassador
• Asa Hutchinson (1.0%), former Arkansas Governor
• Doug Burgum (0.8%), North Dakota Governor
• Perry Johnson (*), businessman

*Politico notes that Johnson has apparently qualified based on several polls released in recent days that have him at 1% support. Prior to this, Johnson had largely been excluded from most surveys. Update: Johnson did not make the debate stage.

On Friday, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez claimed that he had qualified. However, the Republican National Committee said that he had not yet met all the criteria. Candidates have until 9:00 PM Eastern Time on Monday to meet the RNC requirements.

Republicans are sticking with Fox for their second debate, to be moderated by Fox Business Network on September 27.