The second GOP presidential debate is set to kick off on Wednesday night with a much smaller stage than last month’s debate. However, one name will still be missing.
Candidates will be taking to the debate stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, tonight at 9 p.m. EST. The debate will be hosted by Fox Business Network and Univision.
To qualify for the second debate, GOP candidates were required to register at least 3% in two national polls or one national poll and two polls from separate early-voting states. The polls had to be released 48 hours prior to the debate and meet RNC standards.
Qualifying candidates were also required to have at least 50,000 unique donors and at least 200 donors in 20 states or territories.
Lastly, debate participants had to sign a pledge to commit to supporting the eventual nominee for the party, a topic that has been widely discussed among conservatives.
Those who qualified for the debate stage include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
The GOP front-runner, former President Donald Trump, will once again be absent from the debate stage, saying that it would be a waste of his time to go, being that he is so far ahead in the polls.
“Basically, it’s a job interview. You look at the debates, it’s a job interview, and so far, I’m not too interested,” Trump said while campaigning in South Carolina.
An NBC News poll released Sunday showed Trump is leading in the field of Republicans, with 59% of primary voters selecting him as their first choice, followed by DeSantis in second place, with 16%.
However, even with a majority of Republicans supporting him, the former president is facing a mountain of legal trouble, including several lawsuits attempting to remove him from the ballot.
If that were to happen, then the remaining field of Republican candidates would be thrust even further into the spotlight.
While every candidate will look to shine tonight, some have a little more on the line than others.
Haley, Ramaswamy, and DeSantis continue to poll ahead of the group after each had their moments in the last debate, and experts expect them to try and stand apart from the others tonight.
Haley, who had a fiery back-and-forth with Ramaswamy, has trended upwards in the polls in the last month and will try to double down tonight.
DeSantis continues to hold the number two spot behind Trump despite the constant attack from the former president and others aiming for his spot.
While he didn’t stand out specifically during the last debate, he will be trying to present himself as an alternative to the former Republican administration tonight.
DeSantis is also slotted to debate California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the coming weeks in another effort to show he has what it takes to be the nominee.
Ramaswamy was the target of every candidate during the last debate, producing numerous quotes that circulated online afterward.
Despite the extra attention, Ramaswamy hasn’t seen a positive bump in polling since the last debate and will look to share his base this evening.