NBC News to Host 3rd GOP Presidential Primary Debate

(L–R) Former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) at the second Republican presidential primary debate, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27, 2023. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

NBC News will host the third and final Republican presidential primary debate in Miami on Nov. 8, the network said on Oct. 16.

The two-hour event will take place at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, starting at 8 p.m. local time. It will air on television and on the streaming and digital platforms of NBC News, the network said.

The moderators and format for the debate have yet to be announced.

Requirements to Qualify for Debate

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has set the most demanding qualification requirements yet for the third debate. A candidate must secure 4 percent of votes in two national polls, or a combination of 4 percent support in one national poll and two different early state polls.

The early states that count are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. They are among the first to vote for the GOP’s next presidential nominee.

Polls must have been conducted on or after Sept. 1, and candidates have until 48 hours before the debate to meet the polling requirement, the RNC said.

In addition, participating candidates need a minimum of 70,000 unique donors to their presidential campaigns, including 200 donors each from at least 20 states.

Who Has Qualified?

Seven contenders for the Republican presidential nomination were onstage at the second debate, held last month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. It isn’t immediately clear how many will qualify again, because of the higher polling and donor thresholds.

Participants in the second debate were North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

Trump PAC: Primary Debates ‘a Waste’

Former President Donald Trump, the clear front-runner in the 2024 GOP primary polling, was absent at the first two debates and is unlikely to participate in the third one.

Following last month’s debate in California, the former president’s Make America Great Again PAC issued a statement that referred to the primary debates as “a waste of time” and a “distraction.”

“Everyone seems to agree that these primary debates are a waste of time that will do nothing to change the state of the race,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the MAGA PAC, said in a statement.

She added that even Mr. DeSantis was frustrated by the debate’s focus on trivial matters.

“He said during a post-debate interview, ‘If I were at home watching that, I would turn the channel,’” Ms. Leavitt said, referring to the governor’s comments on Fox News’ post-game show, during which he complained to host Sean Hannity about “a lot of bickering on the stage.”

“It’s in the best interest of the American people to stop wasting time and money on this distraction—let’s unite around President Donald Trump and take the fight to Joe Biden,” she said.

With the first primaries and caucuses more than three months away, President Trump continues to hold a commanding lead in the field. Citing his dominant performance in polling, he skipped the first primary debate, hosted by Fox News on Aug. 23, and instead sat with Tucker Carlson for an interview broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.

On the night of the second debate, President Trump delivered a speech at a nonunion auto facility in a northern suburb of Detroit, sharing his vision of a second White House term focusing on protecting U.S. manufacturing jobs. He also addressed unionized auto members who went on strike after failing to reach a deal with companies that are shifting toward producing electric vehicles, saying that they deserve an option to stick with the business they know.

“You’re all on picket lines and everything, but it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference what you get because in two years, you’re all going to be out of business,” he said, criticizing President Joe Biden’s agenda to drastically accelerate the country’s transition away from fossil fuels to electric vehicles.