5 candidates qualify for third GOP presidential primary debate

Just five Republican presidential candidates will participate in Wednesday night’s primary debate in Miami — the smallest stage yet, the Republican National Committee announced Monday night.

The candidates in the third debate are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessperson Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Missing are former Vice President Mike Pence, who suspended his campaign last month, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who qualified for the last debate in September but did not meet the new polling threshold to earn an invitation.

Former President Donald Trump is again skipping the debate, instead hosting a campaign rally in neighboring Hialeah, Fla., that is scheduled to begin shortly before the debate.

In order to qualify for the debate, candidates needed to earn at least 4 percent in polling — either in two national surveys or one national survey plus two surveys from the early-nominating states — and receive donations from at least 70,000 individuals before Monday’s 8 p.m. deadline.

The only drama heading into Monday’s announcement surrounded Scott, who has failed to reach 4 percent in national polling, though he’s significantly stronger in the early states. Scott appeared to qualify thanks to a YouGov poll in September with an unconventional way of determining “likely voters” that the RNC accepted.

But Scott, who’s currently at about 2 percent in the national polls, faces a steeper climb for next month’s debate in Alabama. For that fourth debate, the polling threshold rises to 6 percent, a number that could trip up the South Carolina senator, along with Christie.

The five-candidate stage makes Wednesday’s event the smallest Republican primary debate since February 2016, when five Republicans met for the final debate before Super Tuesday: Trump, surgeon Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

Wednesday’s debate is the first of the primary campaign to air on national broadcast television, on NBC affiliates across the country. It is cosponsored by NBC News, the Salem Radio Network, the Republican Jewish Coalition and the streaming site Rumble. It begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.