from Nextstar

cable channel NewsNation gets its first

-ever

exclusive presidential primary debate and has asked former Fox News host Megyn Kelly to moderate.

Nextstar announced on Thursday that the debate, scheduled for December, will take place. 6 in Tuscaloosa, A

la.

also airs on the CW, the broadcast network

It

acquired last year. It will continue in Los Angeles

KTLA Channel 11 KTLA-TV Channel 5

next to NewsNation.

Kelly wants to arrange moderation

NewsNation

event alongside Elizabeth Vargas, who joined NewsNation as an anchor earlier this year, and

Eliana Johnson

.

The debate will mark a return to TV news for Kelly, who became a major star at Fox News during her stint from 2004 to 2017. Her sharp questioning of the former president

Donald

Trump during the first Republican primary debate of 2016, held in August 2016

ust

2015 angered the candidate. Kelly’s status grew even greater as the event drew 24 million viewers, the largest audience ever for a primary debate.

The lawyer-turned-journalist is also one of the women who spoke out about sexual harassment at Fox News, leading to the ouster of its founder and CEO.

,

Roger Ailes.

Kelly left Fox News in 2017 for NBC News, where she landed a primetime magazine show and her own hour on the “Today” morning franchise. Her stint was over within two years of her on-air comments

where she

to defend

ed ing

the use of black

face as Halloween costume. Despite an apology, she was forced out with $30 million remaining on her contract.

Kelly currently has a daily show on SiriusXM. She recently signed a new multi

–

annual agreement with the satellite radio provider. She also hosts her own podcast, which has recently featured news interviews with Trump and the governor of Florida. Ron DeSantis, his biggest rival for the Republican nomination. She regularly expresses her opinions on social media platforms.

Kelly has said privately that she is happy with her current projects and has no desire to return to daily TV. But a major national news event will likely put her back in the conversation about a future role.

Entering the debate is a coup for NewsNation, which launched in 2020 with the goal of being an opinion-free alternative to CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. The network has been vying for one of the events since the beginning of the campaign season. Although its ratings are only a fraction of those of its established competitors, Nexstar is sticking with this venture

that witch

it is said to be profitable.

Trump, who is leading in the polls for the 2024 Republican nomination, has not appeared in the three primary debates held so far, two of which were broadcast on Fox News and one on

NBC

.

But the ratings were surprisingly strong, with 12.8 million viewers for the first event on August 23 and

And

approximately 9 million viewers for the second on September 27. Nielsen ratings for NBC’s event

in Miami

held Wednesday night in Miami, will be available later Thursday.

Based on the interest in the previous candidates’ rallies, NewsNation will likely have the largest audience in its short history for its debate. It will also gain widespread exposure through clips shown on other networks.