GOP debate stage shrinks to four candidates

This
week’s
GOP
presidential
primary
debate
will
have
the
smallest
stage
yet,
with
just
four
candidates
facing
off
Wednesday
night,
the
Republican
National
Committee
announced
Monday.

Florida
Gov.
Ron
DeSantis,
former
U.N.
Ambassador
Nikki
Haley,
entrepreneur
Vivek
Ramaswamy
and
former
New
Jersey
Gov.
Chris
Christie
have
qualified
for
Wednesday’s
debate
in
Alabama,
which
will
be
hosted
by
NewsNation,
The
Megyn
Kelly
Show on
SiriusXM
and
The
Washington
Free
Beacon.

Christie
appeared
to
qualify
only
a
short
time
before
Monday
night’s
deadline,
reaching
at
least
6%
in
the
necessary
national
and
early-state
polls
to
meet
the
RNC’s
requirements.
Christie’s
campaign
announced
last
month
that he
had
garnered
the
80,000
unique
donors also
required
to
qualify
for
the
debate.

Former
President
Donald
Trump
is once
again
skipping
the
debate,
instead
appearing
at
a
Fox
News
town
hall
on
Tuesday
and
holding
a
private
fundraiser
on
Wednesday.

A
majority
of
likely
Iowa
Republican
caucusgoers
say
Trump’s
decision
to
skip
the
debates
does
not
matter
to
them,
though
42%
believe
he
should
participate
in
at
least
one
debate
before
the
caucuses,
according
to the
most
recent NBC
News/Des
Moines
Register/Mediacom
poll,
which
was
conducted
in
late
October.

Trump
has
continued
to
dominate
the
GOP
primary
even
as
he
has
avoided
facing
off
against
his
rivals.
And
if
past
debates
are
prologue,
the
event
Wednesday
could
feature
the
candidates
going
after
each
other
rather
than
the
front-runner
in
the
polls.

The
debate,
scheduled
at
8
p.m.
ET,
could
be
another
opportunity
for
Haley
to
raise
her
profile.
She’s
seen
a
bump
in
public
polls
and
increasing
support
from
major
GOP
donors,
including
the
Koch
network’s
well-funded
Americans
for
Prosperity,
following
standout
debate
performances.

“The
fourth
debate
is
another
fantastic
opportunity
for
our
Republican
candidates
to
share
our
winning
agenda
with
the
American
people,”
RNC
Chairwoman
Ronna
McDaniel
said
in
a
statement
announcing
Wednesday’s
participants.

“President
Reagan
was
the
first
sitting
president
to
visit
the
University
of
Alabama
nearly
40
years
ago,
just
before
cruising
to
a
landslide
victory
in
1984,
and
I’m
thrilled
to
return
our
conservative
message
to
Tuscaloosa
on
Wednesday
night,”
she
added.

It’s
not
yet
clear
if
there
will
be
another
Republican
debate
before
the
Jan.
15
Iowa
caucuses,
but
Haley
and
Trump’s
other
rivals
are
zeroing
in
on
the
Hawkeye
State
with
just
over
a
month
to
go.

DeSantis
told
NBC
News’
“Meet
the
Press”
on
Sunday
that he
expects
to
win
the
Iowa
caucuses,
and
that
any
suggestion
that
he
would
drop
out
of
the
race
before
the
caucuses
was
“absurd.”

Ramaswamy
also
told
reporters
in
Iowa
on
Saturday
that
he
intends
to
bring
the
same
“candor”
to
the
fourth
debate
as
he
has
to
past
debates.

“I
was
brutally
frank
in
the
last
debate,”
he
said.
“I
think
that
this
country
needs
more
of
that,
not
less.”

Christie
has
kept
his
focus
on
New
Hampshire,
and
he
has
pledged
to
stay
in
the
race.

“I’m
not
considering
dropping
out,”
Christie
said
at
a
town
hall
in
the
Granite
State
last
week.

This
is
the
fourth
time
this
group
of
candidates
has
appeared
together
on
a
debate
stage,
and
it’s
also
the
latest
in
which
other
GOP
candidates
have
failed
to
meet
the
qualifying
thresholds.
That
includes
former
Arkansas
Gov.
Asa
Hutchinson,
who
has
not
appeared
in
a
debate
since
the
first
one
in
August.
South
Carolina
Sen.
Tim
Scott
ended
his
campaign
after
the
third
debate
last
month.

Hours
before
the
RNC’s
announcement
Monday,
North
Dakota
Gov.
Doug
Burgum
suspended
his
presidential
bid
as
he
appeared
poised
to
miss
another
debate.
And
he
slammed
the
RNC’s
debate
thresholds
in
his
exit.

“None
of
their
debate
criteria
relate
to
the
qualifications
related
to
actually
doing
the
job
of
the
president,”
Burgum
said
in
a
statement.
“This
effort
to
nationalize
the
primary
system
is
unhealthy
for
the
future
of
the
party,
especially
for
a
party
that
proclaims
to
value
leadership
from
outside
of
Washington.”

Katherine
Koretski
and
Emma
Barnett
contributed
to
this
report.