Trump’s absence puts Florida Governor DeSantis at center of Republican debate

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will be center stage in a Milwaukee debate on Wednesday that features eight Republican candidates for president, taking the spot that would have been occupied by frontrunner Donald Trump.

The Republican National Committee announced the eight qualifying candidates after Monday night’s deadline passed. They also include Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

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Trump is not participating in the debate despite his overwhelming polling lead, saying he didn’t wish to elevate his rivals. He instead plans to do an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter.

So DeSantis gets top billing — and the center spot alongside Ramaswamy — by virtue of his higher poll numbers among the remaining candidates.

The debate deadline poses a moment of truth for some lower polling candidates who did not make the cut: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, Texas pastor and business executive Ryan Binkley, and California talk show host Larry Elder.
Suarez claimed last week that he had met the polling criteria, but the surveys he submitted did not meet the party’s criteria for quality. Johnson had also claimed to have qualified.
The Miami mayor previously said any candidate who did not qualify for the debate should drop out. His campaign did not immediately respond to questions Monday on his plans.
In order to make the stage, candidates had to raise money from at least 40,000 donors and get 1 percent support in at least three polls. Those numbers will increase for the second debate next month in California, as the party seeks to avoid a repeat of the unwieldy debates of 2015 that were conducted over two separate nights because there were so many candidates.
Candidates also had to sign a pledge that they would support the party’s eventual nominee. Trump has said he wouldn’t sign it.
Former Texas Representative Will Hurd, a fierce Trump critic, also won’t be debating in Milwaukee. Even if he had met the polling and donor requirements, he said he could not support Trump if he became the nominee.
Fox News, which is hosting the Wednesday night forum, said on Monday it would restrict access to the debate venue for representatives of non-participating candidates — meaning that Trump supporters won’t get to make the case for the former president in “spin rooms” after the debate. But Fox spokeswoman Jessica Jensen Ketner said other news organizations covering the debate could still bring in Trump supporters as guests.

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