The first Republican presidential debate of 2024 will be held on Aug. 23, the Republican National Committee announced Friday, with a second debate the following evening if needed.

The RNC also outlined the criteria candidates will use to qualify for the debate phase, including a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. That requirement could keep some candidates off the podium, including the former president

Donald

Trump, who has not pledged to support the nominee if he fails to win the primary. Trump has also questioned why he would participate given that he leads in the GOP primary polls.

The debate takes place in Milwaukee,

Wisconsin,

which will also host the party’s nomination convention next year. It is a nod to the importance of the state on the battlefield

from Wisconsin

which will likely be the key to a presidential victory in 2024.

The RNC is committed to a fair, neutral and transparent primary process, and the eligibility criteria outlined will put our party and the final nominee in the best position to take back the White House in November 2024, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said.

The list of candidates vying to meet the president

joe

Biden next year has grown. In addition to Trump, the field also includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former Governor of Arkansas. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Other candidates expected to enter the contest soon include former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-Governor of New Jersey. Chris Christie and the Governor of North Dakota. Doug Burgum.

The debate stage can provide the largest audience yet for many presidential candidates, but it can also trip candidates. There have already been questions about which candidates will take part and what rules the RNC would impose on them to participate.

Trump has so far said he would not pledge to support the nominee if someone else wins the nomination, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt: It should depend on who the nominee was.

Republicans Face Bitter Divide; no clear way forward

Christie, who plans to launch his campaign in New Hampshire next week, has said he would never support Trump as the party’s nominee in 2024, as he did in 2016. No way, he told Axios in March. Advisers did not immediately respond to questions about how Christie would handle the commitment given his opposition to Trump.

Hutchinson, also a Trump critic, said Friday that he plans to take the debate stage. But he criticized the RNC for requiring the oath of allegiance, saying the pledge should only be that a contestant does not run for a third party.

The RNC should have minimal criteria for the debates in the early stages of this campaign, Hutchinson said. More choices are better.

To participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received campaign contributions from 40,000 unique donors, a relatively large number aimed at winning the field. Hutchinson was critical, saying it benefits candidates who generate donations online through extreme rhetoric and scare tactics.

Among other criteria, they must also receive at least 1% support in three national polls or 1% in two national polls and 1% in early state polls from two separate states. Those states are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. The polls must meet certain requirements in order to be recognized by the RNC.

Candidates must also sign a pledge agreeing not to participate in non-RNC sanctioned debates during the election cycle.

The RNC said criteria for future debates could include higher polling and fundraising thresholds. Future dates are not fixed.

Associated Press reporter Jill Colvin contributed to this report.