Ramaswamy: The four primary debates of the 2024 election cycle will feature participation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, two-term former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
The four candidates who have qualified for the fourth Republican primary debate, which is set to take place in Alabama on Wednesday, include Indian-American presidential contenders Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. This is the smallest debate stage lineup of the year.
On November 8, the Republican Party held its third presidential debate in Miami, Florida.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced on Monday that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, two-term former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will take part in the fourth primary debate of the 2024 election cycle.
According to CBS News, the four candidates will compete on the smallest debate stage lineup of the year at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Former President Donald Trump, who remains the Republican Party’s most popular leader with an approval rating of more than 60%, is not expected to take part in the debate. Trump has also skipped all previous debates.
The announcement comes with only six weeks until the Iowa caucuses kick off the Republican nomination race in 2024, and as DeSantis and Haley compete fiercely to be seen as Trump’s top primary rival, according to CNN.
Haley, the only woman on the GOP primary debate stage, received a major boost to her presidential ambitions in November when she received an endorsement from the Koch brothers’ American for Prosperity network.
The 51-year-old ex-US Ambassador, backed by Americans for Prosperity, is touted to outshine Trump in primaries and challenge incumbent President Biden in the unique November 2024 presidential elections.
Early state polls show that the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Ramaswamy is lagging behind Trump and several other Republican candidates for 2024.
The 38-year-old was a little-known candidate when he started his campaign in February, but he became a breakout star in the summer. However, Ramaswamy found it difficult to maintain that pace.
Ramaswamy, Haley qualifies for the 4th Republican debate.
During those debates, Ramaswamy has been singled out by the other Republican contenders for president due to his lack of political experience and several divisive foreign policy positions regarding US involvement in Taiwan and Israel.
During the final two of the three Republican primary debates, Haley and Ramaswamy engaged in open conflict.
The RNC’s stringent criteria for the fourth debate necessitated candidates to secure a minimum of six percent support in two national polls or 6 percent in one national poll, coupled with two polls from each of the early-voting states—Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
The polls that would qualify candidates were approved by the RNC. Candidates also needed at least 80,000 unique donors, with at least 200 from each of the 20 states or territories.
Ratnavali