RNC announces participants for 4th GOP debate

The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced Monday night that four candidates have qualified to make the stage for the fourth GOP presidential primary debate.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are set to take the stage in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday night. Former President Trump had already signaled he will not attend the event and will instead participate in a Fox News town hall hosted by Sean Hannity on Tuesday night.

Trump’s likely absence from the debate stage does not come as a surprise, after the former president declined to participate in the first three debates, citing his wide lead in the polls. 

Christie’s qualification for the debate comes after speculation he would not meet the requirements set forth by the RNC. Candidates were required to reach 80,000 unique donors, with at least 200 in 20 or more states each, as well as poll at least 6 percent in two national polls or at 6 percent in one national poll and in two separate early state polls.

Christie appeared to meet the polling threshold at some point on Monday, shortly before the deadline later that night. Christie’s campaign announced last month he met the donor threshold and last week, Christie said he was “confident” he would make the fourth debate despite speculation over meeting the polling threshold.

“The fourth debate is another fantastic opportunity for our Republican candidates to share our winning agenda with the American people,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “President Reagan was the first sitting president to visit the University of Alabama nearly 40 years ago, just before cruising to a landslide victory in 1984, and I’m thrilled to return our conservative message to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night.” 

The two-hour debate will kick off Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. It will be hosted by The Hill’s sister news organization NewsNation and will be moderated by Elizabeth Vargas and Megyn Kelly. People who want to watch the debate can click here to find NewsNation in their cable market, as well as information on how to stream the debate.

Updated at 8:46 pm.