The first Republican presidential primary debate is Wednesday in Milwaukee, airing on Fox News starting at 9 p.m. EDT
The leading 2024 Republican presidential candidates are set to face off in a series of debates — the first of which is Wednesday night in Milwaukee, airing on Fox News starting at 9 p.m. EDT.
More than half a dozen White House hopefuls have met the polling and donor requirements for a spot, while others are still pushing to make it onto the stage. The front-runner, however, has declined to participate outright.
Here’s what to know about the first Republican presidential primary debate and the debates coming later in the election season.How to watch the debate
The two-hour debate will air on Fox News and anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate it.
ABC News and FiveThirtyEight will have live updates online of the latest action on the debate stage as well as analysis on the biggest takeaways from the night.Who will be participating in the presidential debate?
Eight candidates are confirmed to have met the Republican National Committee qualifications to attend.
They are: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Former President Donald Trump would also have qualified — except that he isn’t going. He wrote in a post on his social media site on Sunday that he will skip the debate, saying that the public already knows who he is. He has also cited his enormous lead in early polls.
The GOP front-runner will instead release a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News over the weekend.
