Eight Republican presidential candidates take the stage at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, in the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 campaign.
Watch on NTD starting at 11 p.m. ET for our instant post-debate coverage with Capitol Report host Steve Lance and our team of political analysts.
Former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner, is the only candidate who qualified for the debate, but declined the invitation. He is widely expected to run counter-programming on social media.
Here are the other candidates who met the Republican National Committee (RNC) criteria to join the Fox News debate. The criteria included having 40,000 donors (including at least 200 unique donors in 20 states) plus polling at 1 percent or more in three qualifying polls.
In order of RealClearPolitics averages (Aug. 22):
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida
Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and businessman
Mike Pence, former vice president
Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to United Nations and former South Carolina governor
Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor
Tim Scott, U.S. senator from South Carolina
Asa Hutchinson, former Arkansas governor
Doug Burgum, North Dakota governor
Four candidates did not qualify according to the RNC:
Larry Elder, media personality
Francis Suarez, Miami mayor
Will Hurd, former congressman from Texas
Ryan Binkley, entrepreneur and pastor
Larry Elder says he has met the criteria and has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission.
