The first Republican presidential debate will last two hours and include some taped questions submitted by students from a conservative group, according to formal rules sent to campaign teams.
The Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee will be hosted by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum and start at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
Format rules obtained by the Semafor news outlet said candidates will not make opening statements. Candidates should expect questions from members of Young America’s Foundation.
Contenders will have one minute for each answer, 30 seconds for each follow-up and 45 seconds for a closing statement. Two commercial breaks will run per hour, during which candidates can use the restroom and touch up makeup.
Eight candidates have qualified for the debate: former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
It’s unclear if Mr. Trump, the front-runner, plans to show up for the event. He used the debate stage to great effect in 2016 but says he might not want to debate, given his wide lead and fear of bias by the moderators.
His GOP rivals say Mr. Trump is a chicken and must face voters if he wants to regain the White House.
The DeSantis campaign did polling on the issue and found GOP primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada overwhelmingly agree with the statement that “Donald Trump should debate the other challengers for the nomination.”
“Regardless of whether or not Donald Trump is afraid to debate, Ron DeSantis is looking forward to being on stage in Milwaukee talking about his plans to beat Joe Biden, reverse the decline in our nation and revive America’s future,” the DeSantis campaign said Wednesday.
Mr. Christie also scuffled with Mr. Trump after the ex-president told a New Hampshire supporter not to call the ex-governor a “fat pig.”
“He’s eating right now; he can’t be bothered,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Christie.
“If you had the guts you would show up to the debate and say it to my face,” Mr. Christie tweeted back.
The Republican National Committee said Wednesday the second debate will be held Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and will be presented by Fox Business and Univision. The Rumble platform will be the exclusive RNC livestream provider.
“We are looking forward to continuing our fair, neutral and transparent primary process in Simi Valley to elect the next president of the United States,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.