(NewsNation) — NewsNation will host the fourth Republican National Committee presidential debate ahead of the 2024 primaries during the first week of December. It will be broadcast on-air and streamed online and on the NewsNation app.
The Republican presidential field of candidates has steadily narrowed during the course of the campaign season, with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott being the latest to drop out of the race, following the third primary debate in early November.
Though former President Donald Trump — the clear Republican frontrunner according to polls by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics — has remained off the debate stage, several candidates have battled it out in the previous three debates, seeking to narrow the gap with Trump in support and distance themselves in their policy positions.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are the candidates that remain in the race, less than two months before the Iowa primaries, though the latter two did not make it to the third debate stage.
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming debate, hosted by NewsNation:
Who, when, where
The fourth Republican National Convention debate will be conducted at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 6 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Elizabeth Vargas, the Peabody award-winning anchor of NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Megyn Kelly, host of “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM and Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon, will moderate.
How to watch the Republican debate on TV
NewsNation will air the debate live beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 6. If you’re not sure how to find NewsNation on your TV, you can use our ChannelFinder app.
It will also be broadcasted simultaneously in the eastern and central time zones on broadcast television network The CW.
You can also tune in to NewsNation’s special coverage, bookending the two-hour debate, that will feature top analysts from across the political spectrum to provide viewers with diverse perspectives throughout the day.
How to watch online for free
The debate will be live-streamed on the NewsNation website beginning at 8 p.m. ET. It will also be streamed on the websites of Nexstar’s nearly 200 local TV stations.
You can also download NewsNation’s app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store, depending on your device. Through the app, we will notify you when the debate begins and you can tune in on your phone. You will also be able to access all of NewsNation’s content for free and go deeper into the issues you care about and where your candidates stand on them.
What are the requirements to get a spot at the fourth Republican debate?
Ahead of the fourth debate, the Republican National Committee (RNC) upped its qualification criteria for candidates hoping to get on the debate stage. Candidates will need to be polling at 6% or higher in two national polls, or at 6% in one early state poll from two separate “carve out” states — listed as Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — to get behind a podium in December, according to the RNC press release.
This is higher than the 4% requirement that was needed for the third debate conducted in early November.
The polls also need to survey at least 8,000 registered likely Republican voters, among other requirements.
While the previous debate required at least 70,000 unique donors, candidates will need to bring in a minimum of 80,000 unique donors to their principal presidential campaign committee, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states or territories each.