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Republicans set to joust in first presidential debate, sans Trump
Good evening, and welcome to our live coverage of the first Republican primary debate, which will feature all of the party’s main presidential contenders – except for the frontrunner, Donald Trump.
While his eight rivals slug it out on the debate stage in Milwaukee, Trump will sit down for an interview with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, which will air at the same time.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, the former president’s co-defendants in the indictment filed by Fulton county prosecutor Fani Willis over their attempt to disrupt the 2020 election spent the day surrendering, including Rudy Giuliani, who turned himself in after posting a $150,000 bail.
The debate kicks off at 9pm eastern time on Fox News, and will feature the following candidates: Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley and his former vice-president Mike Pence, and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson. North Dakota governor Doug Burgum was supposed to be there, but just injured his leg at a baseball game and may not attend.
Follow along here as we cover it live.
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Everything you need to know about tonight's Republican debate
Fox News is hosting the first Republican primary debate, which begins at 9pm ET in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin is a perennial swing state that has lately become viewed as the “tipping point” in determining the winner of presidential elections. Racially diverse and reliably Democratic, Milwaukee is its most populous city, but voters in its suburbs often play a major role in deciding elections. The debate will be held at the city’s Fiserv Forum.
The Guardian’s David Smith is in Milwaukee, and has this look at what tonight’s debates mean for the city:
The Republican party faces an electability test on Wednesday when candidates including election deniers, climate deniers and anti-abortion extremists take the debate stage in a city that rebukes them and a state they cannot afford to lose.
The first presidential primary debate will be held in Milwaukee, a racially diverse Democratic stronghold in Wisconsin, a battleground that could decide who wins the White House in 2024.
Even without Donald Trump, who is skipping the primetime televised event, the juxtaposition between Republicans who have embraced his far-right agenda and their sceptical host city offers a preview of the party’s struggle to broaden its appeal.
Republicans set to joust in first presidential debate, sans Trump
Good evening, and welcome to our live coverage of the first Republican primary debate, which will feature all of the party’s main presidential contenders – except for the frontrunner, Donald Trump.
While his eight rivals slug it out on the debate stage in Milwaukee, Trump will sit down for an interview with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, which will air at the same time.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, the former president’s co-defendants in the indictment filed by Fulton county prosecutor Fani Willis over their attempt to disrupt the 2020 election spent the day surrendering, including Rudy Giuliani, who turned himself in after posting a $150,000 bail.
The debate kicks off at 9pm eastern time on Fox News, and will feature the following candidates: Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley and his former vice-president Mike Pence, and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson. North Dakota governor Doug Burgum was supposed to be there, but just injured his leg at a baseball game and may not attend.
Follow along here as we cover it live.
