The second Republican presidential debate in California next week will mark a new phase in the primary contest: Some candidates will start to feel a new level of pressure to drop out.
As of Thursday, six candidates have said they had qualified for the second debate, which will take place next Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. Two other candidates who participated in the first debate of the cycle – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson – had not said they had qualified for the debate. The far and away front-runner in the primary, former President Donald Trump, is opting to skip the debate again and instead do a prime time speech with current and former union members in Detroit.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.