It’s round two for seven 2024 GOP presidential aspirants, all of whom are seeking a breakout moment in the second Republican primary debate.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
The candidates will converge at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. for the two-hour verbal rumble starting at 9 p.m. ET.
The debate will be shown on the Fox Business Network, which will begin its special coverage at 6 p.m. with a special edition of “The Bottom Line” hosted by Dagen McDowell and Sean Duffy.
Beginning at 8 p.m., FBN will host an hour-long “Countdown to the Debate” special featuring an array of Fox stars.
In addition to Fox Business, Univision is co-hosting and airing the debate, which can also be seen on Fox News, Fox Nation, and Rumble.
Live TV streaming service Sling TV carries Fox News, but you’ll need to subscribe to a base plan + an add-on to stream it.
Fox News host Dana Perino, Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney, and Univision’s Ilia Calderón will moderate the showdown after Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum oversaw the first debate last month in Milwaukee.
The moderators have largely kept their cards close to the vest ahead of Wednesday night, but they have indicated that more than economic issues will be discussed.
“I think the audience is interested in a wide variety of subjects and issues that are going to be front and center in the election. We don’t want to make it all about the economy just because it’s on Fox Business,” Varney told The Post.
Expect topics such as the growing migrant crisis, the war in Ukraine, crime, worker strikes, and more to be discussed.
Seven of the eight candidates from the first debate will be there after former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson failed to qualify.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. and Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will take part.
The lineup is determined by polling position, so DeSantis will be center stage.
From left to right as the audience sees it, the contenders will be: Burgum, Christie, Haley, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Scott, and Pence.
Obviously not.
As with the first debate, the former president and GOP frontrunner will skip the second showdown to visit Michigan and rally with striking members of the United Auto Workers union.
President Biden quickly added a stop at the Michigan picket line to his Tuesday schedule after Trump’s visit was confirmed.
Union workers are demanding higher pay and benefits from the Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler. They walked off the job Sept. 15.
Trump has cited his massive polling lead as reason to forgo the debate.
For one thing, Trump has solidified his lead. Around the time of the first debate, he had a roughly 41 percentage-point edge nationally over his GOP peers, now it sits at around 43 points, per the RealClearPolitics average.
Additionally, there’s been a slight reshuffling of the lower-tier candidates in national polling. Pence has been dethroned from fourth place by Haley, who appears to be overtaking Ramaswamy for third, according to RCP.
Prerequisites for the second debate were slightly more rigorous than the first.
To qualify, candidates needed to garner at least 50,000 individual donors — up from 40,000 in August.
They also needed to lock down at least 3% in two national polls or 3% in one national poll and 3% in two polls from the first four early states. This was up from 1% last time.
Candidates attending the second debate also had to sign multiple party pledges — including a commitment to back the eventual nominee, and only attend party-sanctioned debates.
In addition to Hutchinson, a handful of longshot hopefuls will not be onstage. They are: Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, Los Angeles radio talk show host Larry Elder, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley and former Cranston, RI, Mayor Steve Laffey.
Miami Mayor Frances Suarez, who didn’t make the cut for the first debate, has since dropped out.
Both Elder and Johnson cried foul over their exclusion from the first debate and revealed plans to sue the RNC as a result.
The third debate will take place in Miami on Nov. 8, while the 2024 Republican primary calendar begins with the Iowa caucuses Jan. 15.