The Republican National Committee announced that seven candidates have qualified for the second Republican presidential debate, which is scheduled for Wednesday. The participants include Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Nikki Haley (former governor of South Carolina and former United Nations ambassador), former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. Notably, former President Donald J. Trump, who is leading in the polls, will once again skip the debate.
For the other candidates, time is running out to gain ground on Trump. DeSantis, who was the closest rival to Trump, has fallen in recent polling, while the other candidates have struggled to make significant breakthroughs. The debates present an opportunity for them to make an impact and gain attention from a national audience ahead of the early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. However, former Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas failed to meet the stricter requirements for participation in the second debate, such as having at least 50,000 donors and polling at 3% in national polls or in early-voting states.
It is unclear if Hutchinson missed both requirements or just one, as his campaign did not confirm whether he met the donor threshold. Furthermore, no candidates who missed the first debate qualified for the second one. While some lesser-known candidates met the increased donor requirement, they were unable to reach the 3% polling threshold. Meanwhile, Trump has planned his own counterprogramming, with a prime-time speech in Detroit to address current and former union workers during their strike. Additionally, Trump has refused to sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, which is a requirement for debate participation.