These are the five candidates participating in the third GOP debate in Miami

The third debate prior to the Republican presidential primaries will be this Wednesday night in Miami (Florida). According to a statement from the Republican National Committee (RNC), five candidates will be present: the former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, the former United Nations Ambassador, Nikki Haley, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, the senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (all of them have met the criteria to participate):

The big absentees: the Governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, who failed to meet the requirements after having participated in the first two debates this year, former Arkansas Governor, Asa Hutchinson, who also did not meet the minimum criteria met (he only participated in the first debate) and former president Donald Trump, who easily met the criteria, but refuses to sign on to the party's commitments (which he must do to qualify).

Participants

- Ron DeSantis: The Florida governor was considered Trump's main rival and has raised a large amount of funds for his campaign. He is one of the favorites of Republican voters.

- Tim Scott: the South Carolina senator does not have great favoritism within the GOP electorate (there were doubts about whether he would meet the requirements to participate in the debate due to the minimum percentages required in the polls). However, he has managed to improve his position against his opponents. According to his press officer, Scott aims to differentiate himself from DeSantis and Nikki Haley, asking how they could "present a contrast to Donald Trump after he made both of their political careers."

- Nikki Haley: she is the only Republican woman present among the candidates. After the two previous debates, she has benefited from a reputation for attention from the electorate that was evidenced in the polls.

- Vivek Ramaswamy: the youngest of the candidates - and a multimillionaire businessman of Indian origin - has managed to raise a large amount of money for his campaign due to criticism for his young age and limited experience in politics.

- Chris Christie: presents himself as the most critical candidate of Trump, declaring that he is the only one of the candidates who can confront him. The former governor of New Jersey has repeatedly assured that former President Trump - if he becomes the winner of the primaries - will lose the race for the White House to Joe Biden.

The GOP criteria

Among the criteria to qualify for the GOP debates is having had at least 70,000 unique donors and reaching a minimum percentage (4%) of voting intention in two national polls or one national and one state poll. In addition, the candidates must sign several party commitments, one of them is to support the candidate who is elected.

Burgum was unable to participate in the debate because he did not pass the voting intention criterion of the surveys. The governor of North Dakota had shown his rejection of these requirements imposed by the RNC, calling them "clubhouse rules." He also assured that he will remain in the race during the first state contests.

Among the Republicans who had run and have withdrawn from the race are: former Vice President Mike Pence, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson and conservative radio host Larry Elder.

The fourth Republican debate already has a date and place. It will be on December 6 in Tuscaloosa (Alabama) and will have even more demanding requirements and criteria (greater number of donors and greater support in surveys).