The Upcoming November Republican Presidential Debate Imposes the Most Rigorous Eligibility Criteria to Date

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Scheduled for November 8 in Miami, the third Republican presidential debate will take place one day after various states conduct their off-year elections. This event will feature the most stringent eligibility criteria for participation that candidates have encountered thus far.

To secure a position on the debate stage, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has mandated that each candidate must obtain at least 4% of the vote in multiple qualifying polls and accumulate 70,000 unique donors. Although the RNC released this information on Friday, they have not yet divulged the identity of the debate’s moderator or moderators.

This announcement arrives as the extensive Republican candidate pool readies itself for the second primary debate, which will transpire without the participation of the current front-runner, former President Donald Trump. Trump, who also abstained from the inaugural debate last month, has opted to engage with current and former union workers in Michigan rather than attending the debate scheduled for September 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

The RNC also specified that, for inclusion in the debate, presidential aspirants must secure at least 50,000 unique donors in addition to meeting polling benchmarks in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

As of now, the RNC has not officially verified the candidates who have met these rigorous standards for the forthcoming Wednesday debate. Nonetheless, several campaigns have self-reported that they have met the required criteria. These include those of former Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

The participation of North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in the second debate remains uncertain; both attended the first debate.

Candidates’ positioning on stage will be determined based on their ranking in polls that comply with RNC-established criteria, with those performing better situated closer to the center of the stage. Senator Tim Scott, positioned second from the right edge during the first GOP debate last month, has submitted a formal proposal to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, arguing for a change in how candidates are arranged. Scott’s campaign contends that, given Iowa’s role as the first caucus state in the GOP election cycle next year, “polling results from Iowa should be the primary consideration for podium placement at the September debate.”

In response to Scott’s suggestion, the RNC stated, “The debate committee has taken a thoroughly considered approach to the entire process, and we continue to welcome input from all candidates, partners, and stakeholders. We are committed to hosting another equitable and transparent debate stage in Simi Valley.”

Contributions to this report were made by Big Big News writers Michelle L. Price, based in New York, and Jonathan J. Cooper, based in Phoenix.

For further information, Meg Kinnard can be contacted via her Twitter handle: http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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• Republican National Committee Official Announcement
• Schedule of 2023 Republican Presidential Debates
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
• 2023 Election Calendar
• Polling Data Aggregator
• Unique Donor Requirements Explained
• Previous GOP Debates
• Iowa Caucus History and Importance
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