Republican presidential debate: Start time, candidates, how to watch and stream on NBC

Republicans will hold their third presidential debate of the 2024 election Wednesday, and once again former President Donald Trump won’t be among the candidates on stage.

Trump has yet to join a debate stage this election cycle, and has spent much of the past month in a New York courtroom defending himself in a civil fraud case. Despite facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases, Trump continues to poll well ahead of his challengers, and has called on Republicans to cancel all upcoming debates.

Even the campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was once considered the most viable Republican alternative to Trump, admitted that a big win in Iowa by the former president in January would basically end any chance of preventing a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, which Republicans lost by more than 7 million votes.

“Everyone can universally agree that if Trump were to win big in Iowa it would create media and political momentum for his candidacy that would be difficult to stop heading into New Hampshire,” James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s campaign manager, wrote in a memo this week obtained by the AP.

Wednesday’s debate will air on NBC at 8 p.m. Eastern, and is the first Republican presidential debate of this election cycle to air outside of Fox News. It will also stream on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform.

Joining DeSantis on the stage will be former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Haley is the only challenger to Trump who has seen her support grow over the past few months, according to a Real Clear Politics average of polls, though she still trails the former president by a wide margin.

Former Vice President Mike Pence ended his presidential bid on Oct. 28. Pence was unable to draw much support from Republican voters who continue to overwhelmingly favor his former boss, forcing the former vice president to walk a fine line when it came to criticizing Trump over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the third Republican debate of the 2024 election cycle:

Wednesday’s Republican debate, the third of the 2024 election cycle, is scheduled to run from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami.

Wednesday’s debate is hosted by NBC News and Rumble, a conservative social media platform. In addition to airing on NBC, it will also stream on Peacock, the network’s subscription service.

Six candidates qualified, including former President Donald Trump. Trump once again will skip the event. Here are the five candidates who will appear on the stage:

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum failed to qualify for the third debate after having made it on the stage for the first two Republican contests. Despite the setback, Burgum plans to continue his campaign, writing on social media he was just “skipping” the debate.

After having qualified for the first Republican debate, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has failed twice to meet the criteria to make it on the stage. Last week, Hutchinson wrote on social media “I will be at the Iowa Caucus,” which is scheduled for Jan. 15.

Wednesday’s debate will feature three moderators:

We’re still months away from the first votes being cast in the 2024 presidential election.

Pennsylvania’s primary is scheduled for April 23. New Jersey Republicans won’t vote in the primary until June 4.

Super Tuesday, which includes primary elections in 15 states and features the largest number of Republican delegates up for grabs in a single day, will take place on March 5.

Here is a rundown of the early Republican contests:

It’s unclear how many debates the Republican National Committee have approved this cycle — so far, it has announced just four debates. In the 2016 election, where there wasn’t an incumbent, there were 12 Republican debates.

A fourth Republican debate is scheduled for Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Candidates will need to reach 6% support in multiple polls and secure at least 80,000 unique donors to participate in the debate, according to the Republican National Committee. It’s unclear which network will broadcast the debate, and who will moderate.