Five candidates set to square off for third Republicans debate

The third Republican debate is set to be a bit less crowded than its predecessors.

Five Republicans are poised to square off with each other at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami, Fla., on Wednesday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) have all made the cut, the Republican National Committee confirmed Monday.

That’s two candidates fewer than the second debate held in September, with former Vice President Mike Pence dropping out of the running in the time since and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum failing to qualify.

“We are looking forward to our third debate in Miami, a welcome opportunity for our candidates to showcase our winning conservative agenda to the American people,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.

RNC officials set a higher bar for the third debate, requiring that candidates garner 70,000 unique donors — up from 50,000 for September’s second debate — and hit 4% in select polls, up from 3%.

Former President Donald Trump also met those metrics and only needed to take the RNC’s pledges, which included a vow to support the party’s eventual nominee, to join his Republican peers on stage.

But as with the first two debates, he appears content to skip the third one and instead hold a rally in nearby Hialeah, Fla., about a 30-minute drive from the debate stage.

The third debate will air on NBC News from 8 to 10 p.m. ET, one hour earlier than the first two verbal jousts of the election cycle.

NBC has tapped “Meet The Press” moderator Kristen Welker and “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt to co-moderate the debate alongside conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

This marks the first time of the 2024 cycle that the RNC has ventured outside the Fox News empire for its debates, having tapped Fox News to host the first bout and Fox Business to helm the second.

Florida is the home turf for the two leading contenders — Trump and DeSantis.

Last week, DeSantis needled Trump over his debate boycott, questioning whether the former commander in chief “has the balls” to show up.

Christie has similarly attempted to bait Trump into jumping into the arena, keen on a showdown with his one-time friend.

Trump has spurned calls to appear on stage, pointing to his overwhelming lead in the polls and arguing that debating his lower-tier rivals is a waste of time.

One dynamic that has changed since the second debate is Haley’s standing in the polls. She has enjoyed something of an uptick over recent weeks, which could make her a prime target for rivals.

Scott’s team recently penned a memo jabbing at Haley as a “moderate” and DeSantis as a “failing candidate.” Haley had appointed Scott to serve as senator in 2013.

With almost two months to go until the first in the nation GOP contest in January, candidates will likely scrap to gain as much traction as possible.

Trump is way out in front of the GOP pack nationally with 58.5% support, followed by DeSantis at 13.3%, Haley at 8.4%, Ramaswamy at 4.5%, Christie at 2.5%, and Scott at 1.7%, per the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.

At least two other lower polling aspirants failed to qualify for the third debate: former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who was cut from the second debate; and Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley.

Several long-shot candidates have trickled out of the contest over recent weeks, including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, radio talk show host Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson and former Cranston, RI, Mayor Steve Laffey.

After Wednesday night’s showdown, Republicans are planning to host at least one more debate before the Iowa Caucus.

The fourth debate will take place in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 6 and feature even more stringent prerequisites for candidates to qualify.

To make the cut, candidates will need to lock down 6% support in either two national polls or in one national poll and two different early state contests. This is up from the 4% threshold.

Hopefuls will also need to have a minimum of 80,000 unique donors, including 200 unique donors in 20 states — up from 70,000.