With front-runner Donald Trump skipping the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate, eight of his GOP rivals will vie to emerge as the party’s top alternative to the former president in their first on-stage showdown Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
The two-hour debate is set to start at 9 p.m. Eastern time. It is hosted by Fox News Channel, with hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderating.
CNN will cover the debate at cnn.com, including live updates, analysis and fact checks.
Eight candidates will be on stage: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; former Vice President Mike Pence; former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Here are six things to watch in Wednesday night’s debate:
Can DeSantis withstand the bright lights?
With Trump skipping Wednesday night’s debate, DeSantis – who has polled in second place nationally and in early-voting states among likely Republican primary voters all year – might wear the biggest target on the stage in Milwaukee.
After all, Trump remains broadly popular with Republican voters, which means attacking the former president could alienate broad swaths of the primary electorate. Instead, in something of a replay of the 2016 primary, many GOP contenders appear focused on first positioning themselves as the field’s most viable Trump alternative – a status DeSantis now occupies.
After a 19-point reelection victory last year, DeSantis entered the GOP race to sky-high expectations. But he has not yet lived up to that promise, stalling out in the polls while downsizing and reshuffling his campaign staff.
A strong…
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