By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/whos-on-stage-for-the-4th-gop-debate Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Who’s on stage for the 4th GOP debate? Politics Dec 6, 2023 3:47 PM EDT For more politics coverage and analysis, sign up for Here’s the Deal, our weekly politics newsletter, here. Six major Republican presidential candidates remain heading into the fourth GOP debate on Wednesday. We’re now a little more than a month away from the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15. LIVE UPDATES: 4th GOP debate in the 2024 presidential race The GOP primary field, which at one point had more than 12 candidates, shrank even further when North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suspended his 2024 campaign on Monday. Upon his exit, he criticized the Republican National Committee’s “clubhouse debate requirements,” saying they are “nationalizing the primary process.” Six major Republican presidential candidates remain heading into the fourth GOP debate on Wednesday. But only four candidates are participating. Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour Burgum, who failed to qualify for the third debate, was not on track to meet the criteria for Wednesday’s debate. Burgum’s exit follows the abrupt end to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s 2024 bid in November. Former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the race weeks earlier. READ MORE: Here’s how to watch the 4th Republican presidential debate Here’s a brief cheat sheet to Wednesday’s debate, which is being held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Who’s on the debate stage? Four Republican candidates qualified for Wednesday’s debate. They are: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy Criteria included whether candidates had reached at least 6 percent in two national polls or 6 percent in one national and two early-state polls. Those states would be Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Less candidates on stage could mean more air time for each presidential hopeful. But as our own Lisa Desjardins has written about in the PBS NewsHour’s Here’s the Deal politics newsletter: This is a batter for second place (after Trump) for the nomination. Who’s missing from the debate stage? Most notably, Donald Trump. The former president has decided to not participate in any of the primary debates. And yet, despite that absence — or perhaps because of it — Trump has dominated the GOP primary, in funding and polls. As counterprogramming, Trump will be holding a fundraiser in Florida. The former president, ahead of the first GOP debate, also refused to sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. Then there’s former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who failed to meet criteria for debates since he participated in the first one. The pressure to find a Trump alternative is mounting As we have covered before, 2024 is shaping up to be a dead heat between Trump and President Joe Biden. And Trump’s rivals are running out of time to present themselves as a Republican alternative. While DeSantis’ campaign has struggled, especially in recent weeks, Haley, also a former U.N. ambassador, has enjoyed a boost in attention, including through a ringing endorsement. Americans for Prosperity, a powerful political arm backed by Charles Koch, formally endorsed Haley last week, promising to support her campaign with its vast network of resources. The group, which had strong ties to DeSantis, said the Florida governor has been a “good ally and a champion of many policy positions of AFP,” an unnamed source told NBC News. “But Nikki Haley also was an early ally, going back to the Tea Party movement when she ran for governor of South Carolina, and is also aligned on the issues.” What was a loss to DeSantis, is a boon to Haley. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden — and Trump’s likely 2024 rival — told donors during a fundraising event outside Boston that he wasn’t sure if he’d be seeking a second term if his predecessor wasn’t trying to regain the Oval Office. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” he said, adding that Democrats “cannot let him win.” Here are 5 things to know about each GOP candidate: Donald Trump Ron DeSantis Nikki Haley Chris Christie Vivek Ramaswamy Asa Hutchinson We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas is a senior editor for the PBS NewsHour's Communities Initiative. He's also the senior editor and manager of newsletters. @Josh_Barrage
For more politics coverage and analysis, sign up for Here’s the Deal, our weekly politics newsletter, here. Six major Republican presidential candidates remain heading into the fourth GOP debate on Wednesday. We’re now a little more than a month away from the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15. LIVE UPDATES: 4th GOP debate in the 2024 presidential race The GOP primary field, which at one point had more than 12 candidates, shrank even further when North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suspended his 2024 campaign on Monday. Upon his exit, he criticized the Republican National Committee’s “clubhouse debate requirements,” saying they are “nationalizing the primary process.” Six major Republican presidential candidates remain heading into the fourth GOP debate on Wednesday. But only four candidates are participating. Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour Burgum, who failed to qualify for the third debate, was not on track to meet the criteria for Wednesday’s debate. Burgum’s exit follows the abrupt end to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s 2024 bid in November. Former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the race weeks earlier. READ MORE: Here’s how to watch the 4th Republican presidential debate Here’s a brief cheat sheet to Wednesday’s debate, which is being held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Who’s on the debate stage? Four Republican candidates qualified for Wednesday’s debate. They are: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy Criteria included whether candidates had reached at least 6 percent in two national polls or 6 percent in one national and two early-state polls. Those states would be Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Less candidates on stage could mean more air time for each presidential hopeful. But as our own Lisa Desjardins has written about in the PBS NewsHour’s Here’s the Deal politics newsletter: This is a batter for second place (after Trump) for the nomination. Who’s missing from the debate stage? Most notably, Donald Trump. The former president has decided to not participate in any of the primary debates. And yet, despite that absence — or perhaps because of it — Trump has dominated the GOP primary, in funding and polls. As counterprogramming, Trump will be holding a fundraiser in Florida. The former president, ahead of the first GOP debate, also refused to sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. Then there’s former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who failed to meet criteria for debates since he participated in the first one. The pressure to find a Trump alternative is mounting As we have covered before, 2024 is shaping up to be a dead heat between Trump and President Joe Biden. And Trump’s rivals are running out of time to present themselves as a Republican alternative. While DeSantis’ campaign has struggled, especially in recent weeks, Haley, also a former U.N. ambassador, has enjoyed a boost in attention, including through a ringing endorsement. Americans for Prosperity, a powerful political arm backed by Charles Koch, formally endorsed Haley last week, promising to support her campaign with its vast network of resources. The group, which had strong ties to DeSantis, said the Florida governor has been a “good ally and a champion of many policy positions of AFP,” an unnamed source told NBC News. “But Nikki Haley also was an early ally, going back to the Tea Party movement when she ran for governor of South Carolina, and is also aligned on the issues.” What was a loss to DeSantis, is a boon to Haley. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden — and Trump’s likely 2024 rival — told donors during a fundraising event outside Boston that he wasn’t sure if he’d be seeking a second term if his predecessor wasn’t trying to regain the Oval Office. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” he said, adding that Democrats “cannot let him win.” Here are 5 things to know about each GOP candidate: Donald Trump Ron DeSantis Nikki Haley Chris Christie Vivek Ramaswamy Asa Hutchinson We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now