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When is the third Republican debate?

Donald Trump to hold rally not far from the debate stage in Miami on 8 November

Gustaf Kilander
Washington, DC
Tuesday 07 November 2023 12:18 EST
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Related video: Watch the highlights from a stormy second GOP debate

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The third Republican primary debate will take place on 8 November, broadcast by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

To qualify, candidates need to reach at least four per cent in two national polls, or four per cent in one national poll and four per cent in two early primary states.

They also need 70,000 individual donors, including 200 donors in 20 states, according to the requirements set by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Five candidates have qualified for the showdown, so far – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur and woke-bashing author Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Former President Donald Trump has also qualified but has said that, like the first two debates, he won’t attend. He will instead hold a rally in Hialeah, Florida, not far from Miami.

While former Vice President Mike Pence has reached the required polling results to participate in the debate, he still needs to acquire 70,000 individual donors.

Ron DeSantis smiles awkwardly during GOP debate

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has hit the required polling in two state polls but hasn’t reached the threshold in national polling or when it comes to donors, according to Politico, even as his campaign argues they have hit the required polling and is on track to get the number of donors needed.

The qualification period is 1 September to 6 November.

Lester Holt, Kristen Welker, and Hugh Hewitt will moderate the third Republican primary debate
Lester Holt, Kristen Welker, and Hugh Hewitt will moderate the third Republican primary debate (Getty)

The debate will be moderated by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, recently-appointed Meet The Press moderator Kristen Welker, and conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Mr Holt co-moderated the first debate in the 2020 Democratic primaries and he was the sole moderator in the first 2016 general election debate between Mr Trump and former Secretary of State and New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden participates in an NBC Town Hall event hosted by Lester Holt at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida on October 5, 2020
Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden participates in an NBC Town Hall event hosted by Lester Holt at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida on October 5, 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

Ms Welker, NBC’s co-chief White House correspondent, was appointed as the new moderator of Meet The Press, NBC’s flagship Sunday political talk show and longest-running TV programme ever, on 17 September.

Mr Hewitt served in the Reagan administration in a number of positions, after which he worked at the Nixon Library before becoming a radio host in the 1990s. The Hugh Hewitt Show is nationally syndicated and Mr Hewitt is also a Washington Post columnist.

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