RNC Says These Candidates Actually Qualified for the First Primary Debate

Spencer Brown | August 22, 2023 10:15 AM

The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced which candidates had officially qualified to be on the debate stage on Wednesday evening in Milwaukee, and the list was notably missing a few candidates who had previously asserted they'd qualified, but apparently have not.

The eight candidates who will participate in the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 presidential campaign cycle are:

Governor Doug Burgum (ND)
Governor Chris Christie
Governor Ron DeSantis (FL)
Ambassador Nikki Haley
Governor Asa Hutchinson
Vice President Mike Pence
Vivek Ramaswamy
Senator Tim Scott (SC)

In recent days, other Republican candidates such as Larry Elder and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said they had met the RNC's criteria to participate, but the RNC clearly did not agree that they had cleared the necessary thresholds to appear on the stage.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the "RNC is excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night" when the candidates convene in Milwaukee where Republicans will officially nominate their candidate next July.

"I’d like to thank the RNC’s debate committee Chairman Dave Bossie and Co-Chair Anne Hathaway and our debate partners, Fox News, Young America’s Foundation, and Rumble for their work to kick off the primary process that will put our Party and eventual nominee in the best position to take back the White House next fall," McDaniel added.

As always, Townhall will have full live coverage of the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday evening starting at 9:00 p.m. ET along with after-action analysis in the days following the debate as Americans register their opinions about which candidates soared, which crashed and burned, and where the field stands heading into the next debate set for September.