The presidential candidates of the Republican Party will face each other on August 23 during the first presidential debate of the cycle. So far Donald Trump (who has not confirmed his attendance), Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie and Doug Burgum have achieved the necessary requirements to be able to take the stage.
Even before the start of the first meeting between the candidates, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has already announced the conditions to qualify for the second debate, scheduled for September 27 and with a definite location: the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Requirements for the second Republican debate
The RNC, chaired by Ronna McDaniel, has raised the bar a bit for the second meeting between the candidates. As reported by POLITICO, a threshold of 50,000 unique donors was established, including 200 donors in 20 states or more each.
In addition, GOP presidential front-runners must register a minimum of 3% voting intention in two national polls and do the same in two polls conducted only in states that will be the first to go to the polls, such as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
As in the first debate, those who wish to participate will have up to 48 hours before the event to meet the requirements, including committing to support the eventual GOP nominee and also agreeing not to participate in any debate not sanctioned by the RNC.
"Once you get on the debate stage and you get in front of the American people, if you're not having momentum, if you're not showing growth in your campaign, then that's a problem," McDaniel said in an interview with Fox News.
"And we need to make sure that we are putting in front of the Republican primary voters the candidate who's going to take on Joe Biden. And I say this all the time, you know, you don't go to the Olympics unless you pass the prelims, right? This is the Olympic stage, the Republican Party primary. And there's going to be criteria that you have to meet to be on that stage," she added.
Differences from the first debate
For starters, the candidate will have to commit to supporting the eventual Republican nominee, something Trump has shown to not be in favor of. In addition, the candidate must meet donations from at least 40,000 domestic taxpayers and must consistently obtain more than 1% in three national polls or two national polls and one state poll while having "at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in more than 20 states and/or territories." Finally, they may not participate in any external debates.
The deadline to comply with the requirements for the first debate will be August 21, just 48 hours before. Only polls taken after June 1 will be valid towards the polling requirements.
