On Wednesday night, five Republican candidates for president will meet at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts for the third RNC debate. According to a Monday night announcement from the RNC, those candidates, in alphabetical order include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepeneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and South Carolina's Sen. Tim Scott.
The field has considerably thinned. During the previous debate, from late September, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Vice President Mike Pence had also participated. Burgum didn't make the cut this time, though, and Pence has since dropped out.
"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. We are especially honored to be the first political party to partner with a Jewish organization for a debate in our partnership with the Republican Jewish Coalition, and our candidates will reaffirm the Republican Party’s unwavering support of Israel and the Jewish community on the stage Wednesday night," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement about the debate.
The statement is no doubt in reference to the October 7 terror attack that Hamas perpetrated against Israel. Polls continue to show that Republicans are more supportive of Israel. Democrats are also in disarray over supporting Israel, with Squad members such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) making anti-semitic remarks and social media posts, and President Joe Biden may be losing voters for what support he has dared to give to Israel.
In addition to the RJC, the debate is in partnership with the Salem Radio Network and Rumble. The Salem Radio Network and Townhall are both under the Salem Media Group. The debate will air on NBC News and Rumble at 8pm, with include NBC "Nightly News'" Lester Holt, "Meet the Press'" Kristen Welker, and Hugh Hewitt of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" as the debate's hosts.
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Also missing is the frontrunner, former and potentially future President Donald Trump, who has also missed the previous debates and has held dueling events. This time he'll be hosting a rally in Hialeah, Florida. According to RealClearPolitics (RCP), Trump currently enjoys 57.6 percent support, for a spread of +44.7.
The fourth RNC debate will take place on December 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the RNC announced last week. There will be even stronger requirements. The candidate must poll at at least 6 percent in two national polls or in one national poll and in one early state poll from two "carve out" states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina.
Another criteria involves a minimum of 80,000 unique donors with at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories.
Stay tuned for Townhall's coverage of the third RNC debate, including from on the ground.
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