First on CNN: Third Republican debate will be in Miami, sources say

CNN
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The third Republican presidential primary debate will be held in Miami in early November, sources familiar with the event tell CNN.

NBC News and Salem Media are in talks to host the Miami debate, according to two people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for NBC News declined to comment. CNN has reached out to Salem Media.

The third debate will follow the first 2024 GOP gathering in Milwaukee last month and the second debate scheduled to take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on September 27.

The debates could play an increasingly crucial role as Republican candidates vie to be seen by primary voters as the party’s top alternative to former President Donald Trump.

Trump, who has maintained a large lead in national and early-state primary polls, skipped the first debate and told former Fox News host Megyn Kelly that while he would participate in potential general election debates with President Joe Biden, he is unlikely to debate his GOP rivals.

“I don’t see it,” Trump told Kelly in an interview released Thursday. “Why would I do it?”

Still, the debates represent the best opportunities for Trump’s Republican opponents – including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who would be on home turf in the third showdown – to reach a national audience.

The Republican National Committee has not yet announced the debate-qualifying criteria for the Miami event. The party’s minimum thresholds to make the stage increased from the first debate to the second one – jumping from a minimum of 40,000 donors to 50,000 donors and at least 1% in three national or two national and two early-state polls to at least 3% in two national polls or one national and two early-state polls.

A signed pledge committing to supporting the eventual Republican nominee was a requirement for the first debate and will be again for the second..

This story has been updated with additional information.