The Sentinel-Record

Republican­s set opening presidenti­al debate for August

- STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer

NEW YORK — The opening Republican presidenti­al debate of the 2024 election season will take place in Milwaukee this August, the Republican National Committee decided Thursday.

The rough time and location were the only details finalized as a small group of RNC members met behind closed doors in Washington this week to begin the complicate­d task of coordinati­ng logistics for what is likely to be a crowded and messy primary season. In the coming weeks, the group plans to finalize a broader set of criteria for participat­ion, including the requiremen­t that each candidate on stage must pledge to support the Republican Party’s eventual nominee.

In selecting Milwaukee, the RNC is following its recent tradition of hosting its inaugural presidenti­al debate in the city playing host to the national convention the following year.

“At this time, no other debates have been sanctioned, nor has the final criteria for the first debate been decided,” GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel wrote in a message to RNC members Thursday. “We have a long way to go, but I am confident we will be able to showcase our eventual nominee in a world class fashion.”

Three high-profile Republican­s have already launched White House bids, but as many as a dozen are ultimately expected to enter the 2024 presidenti­al contest. Already, there are sharp divisions over the future of the party and former President Donald Trump’s divisive politics.

The committee is considerin­g between 10 and 12 debates between August and its national convention in the summer of 2024.

Republican officials are likely to adopt new criteria for participat­ion, including a new donor threshold to demonstrat­e broad support among the party’s grassroots in addition to a polling threshold of 1% or 2%.

Committee officials also met privately this week with more than a dozen media companies to determine the network partners. They include major television networks like CNN, MSNBC and Fox and lower-profile conservati­ve favorites like Newsmax.

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