The next chance for the GOP presidential primary candidates to debate is fast approaching later in September. As we previously reported, the second 2024 debate will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, on September 27th.
There’s now an update on the current list of who is qualified through Republican National Committee (RNC) rules to attend the Southern California event, set to be hosted by Fox Business and Univision:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
- Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
- Former Vice President Mike Pence
- South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Although former President Donald Trump is otherwise qualified to take part if he chooses to, he still has not met one of the RNC’s rules: agreeing to pledge his support for whoever is chosen by the Party as the Republican nominee in the general election.
Some details have also been announced by the RNC on where and when the following debate will happen — and the place to see and be seen, apparently, will be Miami, Florida, in early November:
An official with the Republican National Committee (RNC) confirmed Thursday that the third GOP presidential debate will be held in Miami, Florida, in early November.
Now, this is somewhat intriguing news, since three of the candidates have notable ties to the Sunshine State. Of course, Trump lives in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago home. And Miami might still evoke memories for viewers — and potential voters — of the indictment [linkback]
Ron DeSantis, of course, is the state’s governor right now. But there’s one candidate we absolutely know we won’t be seeing on the stage with direct ties to the host city: the current Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, dropped out of the race in late August, in the wake of the first debate.
There could also be a connection to Salem Media (the parent company of RedState), according to the report:
According to CNN, who first reported the location, NBC News and Salem Media are in talks to host the debate, people familiar with the matter told the outlet.
As my colleague Mike Miller wrote, it’s still unknown if Trump will decide to show up at the second debate later in the month. Regardless, once we get the scoop on what the RNC’s qualifications are for that third debate, we’ll bring them to you all. And of course, we’ll keep you in the loop on who will be there on the stage.
