Republican politicians will take the stage tonight at 9 p.m. EST to debate each other in the first 2024 GOP nominee debate, although one notable name will be missing.
The debate, being hosted in Milwaukee, will feature eight Republicans who qualified — though North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suffered an apparent leg injury on Wednesday morning, and it is unclear if he will attend.
The other Republicans who will be on stage on Wednesday night are former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Former President Donald Trump, who is the leading candidate in every poll, will not be present, as he decided to skip to have a talk with Tucker Carlson instead. He also called on his opponents to just drop out and give him the nomination.
No candidate has heeded his call as of yet, as the debate is still on for tonight.
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel shared in a statement that the candidate field will display their plan to win in the next election.
“The RNC is excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night,” McDaniel said in a statement.
However, some have said that without Trump, tonight’s debate will only serve to show who could be the best alternative to the former president.
Nonetheless, the debate will run for two hours tonight and will be hosted by Fox News Channel, with hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderating.
Among the storylines to follow include how the Florida governor will take his plan of attack, as he was recently hit with controversy after a memo from a PAC supporting him surfaced, appearing to show his game plan for the debate: defend Trump and attack Ramaswamy.
DeSantis has since denounced the memo, saying that it did not come from his campaign and had no validity to it, which leaves many wondering how he will strategize tonight.
“That’s a separate entity. I had nothing to do with it. It’s not something that I’ve read, and it’s not, not reflective of my strategy,” DeSantis said Monday.
With Ramaswamy separating himself from the pack as of late, being that he’s come in second or third in recent polling, many will be looking to see if the up-and-coming youngster will be able to stand out amongst his more seasoned candidates.
Other threads that could be unraveled on Wednesday night are how the candidates respond to Trump’s absence, either by taking shots at him or showing support.
While his absence will allow them to discuss themselves and their vision for the nation, the opportunity to punch up at the former president could arise.
With primaries still months away, tonight is only the first of what could be a battle to the finish line to receive the 2024 Republican nominee.
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