GOP debate live updates: Republicans face off for 2nd time
SIMI VALLEY california — Republican presidential candidates will gather Wednesday in California for the second GOP primary debate of the 2024 election season.
Seven candidates who qualified for the Simi Valley event will show conservative voters they're the strongest candidate to defeat President Joe Biden next year. Former President Donald Trump won't participate in the debate, but viewers will be eager to see if his Republican rivals launch new attacks against the GOP front-runner.
Follow live coverage at USA TODAY. Our reporters in California and Washington will cover everything you need to know about Wednesday's duel.
During the first GOP debate, candidates addressed issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to abortion rights.
Tonight, the Republican hopefuls are expected to talk about the looming government shutdown, the United Auto Workers strike and other important issues facing the nation.
Which candidates would pardon former President Trump?
Former President Donald Trump is facing four criminal charges, and that has raised questions among his GOP rivals about whether they would pardon the former president if elected president − and he is found guilty.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who defended Trump on the campaign trail, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley have expressed support for a pardon, although Haley has indicated in interviews that talks are premature.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has indicated he would support pardons if elected, but has not yet given a definitive answer on Trump. Former Vice President Mike Pence said pardons would only be considered if Trump is found guilty.
Doug Burgum will be on debate stage - this time without injured leg
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, the last candidate to qualify for the debate, will be on stage with six other candidates vying for the Republican nomination. But this debate won't be the only time he's hurt his leg.
Burgum, 67, was rushed to the emergency room after tearing his Achilles tendon while playing basketball a day before the first GOP debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last month. But he still made it on stage the next day.
“I think I took them a little too literally when they said go to Milwaukee and break a leg,” he joked on stage that day.
Will Republican candidates clash with Ramaswamy again?
Vivek Ramaswamy will again be at the centre of the debates and provide high-profile clashes with other candidates, according to Aaron Kall, head of the debate department at the University of Michigan and co-author of "Debating The Donald"
In the last debate, many candidates argued with Ramaswamy over his lack of experience and some of his controversial positions on foreign policy and impeachment of former President Donald Trump, which will likely come up again in the second debate.
Ramaswamy has relied on ultraconservative values to appeal to voters, but as the youngest Republican candidate in the field, he has also appealed to younger Republicans.
Where do the Republican candidates stand on abortion?
Nikki Haley reiterated her stance on abortion in the first Republican debate, arguing that leaders must find consensus on the issue, including an agreement not to jail women who undergo the procedure. Haley, who calls herself a “pro-life” candidate, said Republicans need to be honest about a national ban, which would require 60 votes in the Senate.
Mike Pence, the fiercest abortion opponent among Republican candidates, immediately objected to Haley’s remarks during the event, saying abortion is “a moral issue”
Most Republican candidates, including Chris Christie and Doug Burgum, dodged the question, saying they would leave it up to the states.
Ron DeSantis has touted his record on the issue as Florida governor, having signed a statewide six-week ban into law earlier this year.
Nikki Haley seeks to keep the debate spotlight
Many Republicans said Nikki Haley "won" the first debate − she certainly garnered the best reviews − and they are watching to see if the former South Carolina governor can do it again.
After the Aug. 23 set-to in Milwaukee, Haley saw a spike in fundraising and poll numbers. She passed DeSantis for second place in a few national and state polls.
That may make her a target tonight for other Republican candidates, as the former United Nations ambassador seeks to make it two in a row.
"America deserves a choice, not an echo," Haley said in a pre-debate post on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.
Where do the Republican candidates stand on transgender rights?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed multiple anti-trans bills in Florida earlier this year targeted at gender-affirming care for minors, instruction of gender identity in schools and more.
He isn’t alone among the Republican candidates. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a law that allows schools and government employees to ignore pronouns that transgender individuals use.
Other GOP candidates have also been vocally opposed to transgender rights. Biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has made disparaging remarks about transgender individuals, and former Vice President Mike Pence said he wouldn’t allow transgender Americans to serve in the military.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stands apart. He has said he opposes transgender health care bans, along with other measures.
Donald Trump's criminal indictments?
Donald Trump’s four sets of criminal charges in both federal and state cases have led some of his rivals to fiercely defend him – while others have knocked him.
Biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has taken the former position, alleging without evidence that the indictments are politically motivated. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have also condemned the indictments on the campaign trail.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum have largely dodged questions about the indictments.
Meanwhile, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, two of Trump's most vocal critics, have argued that the Republican Party can't stand behind Trump. Former Vice President Mike Pence said in response to federal allegations that Trump tried to steal the 2020 presidential election that anyone who puts themselves above the Constitution should not be president.
Republican debate moderator Dana Perino: The 'rubber meets the road' for GOP debaters
For students of political history, one of tonight's debate moderators will look familiar: She's a former White House press secretary.
Dana Perino, the chief spokeswoman for President George W. Bush and now a Fox News host, says tonight's showdown is where "the rubber meets the road" for GOP candidates who are struggling to catch the front-running Trump.
"This is the moment where all of them realize, 'if I don't have some sort of break-out moment to show that I could be the rival, the alternative to President Trump, their campaigns probably start to lose even more steam,'" Perino told Fox News Sunday.
The other moderators tonight are Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney and Univision anchor Ilia Calderón.
Conservative Supreme Court could factor into debate
Seven years ago, during the first GOP debate of the 2016 election, the Supreme Court was criticized by several candidates. “It's time that we recognize the Supreme Court is not the supreme being,” then candidate Mike Huckabee quipped. What a difference a few years makes. The nation’s highest court, which today is more conservative than it has been in decades, has already factored into the GOP primary. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump have swiped at each other over whether the bench is conservative enough. Earlier this year, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy released a list of candidates he said he would nominate to the court, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah.
Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and others oppose student debt forgiveness
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had struck down President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive $400 billion in student loan debt for hundreds of Americans, a move that many of the 2024 GOP candidates applauded.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley wrote on X that a president “cannot just wave his hand and eliminate loans for students he favors.” South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has supported legislation prohibiting Biden from cancelling student loan debt.
Likewise, biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy supported the court’s decision.
“We have a bad habit in America of paying people to do the exact opposite of what we want them to do: more $$ to stay at home than to work, more $$ to be a single mother than married, more $$ for those who *fail* to repay loans than those who do,” Ramaswamy wrote on X.
When is the third Republican debate?
The third Republican debate will be held in Miami on Nov. 8, the day after Election Day 2023.
The Republican National Committee announced that the requirements to participate in the debate will the strictest yet: participating candidates must secure 4% of the vote in multiple polls and 70,000 unique donors.
Republican primary polls: Trump still leads, DeSantis a distant second
Donald Trump continues to lead Republican primary polls by about 40 points in most national surveys heading into the debate night. The frontrunner will not be on the stage, though, opting instead to hold a rally for United Auto Workers members in Detroit.
Second and far behind Trump in polls is Ron DeSantis, who will stand at the center of the debate stage. Next in the polls, each less than ten points behind DeSantis and standing on either side of him on stage, are Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Mike Pence and Chris Christie are close behind Ramaswamy in most polls, followed by Tim Scott and Doug Burgum.
Republican debate ratings ahead of 2024
Millions of Americans may be tuning into the GOP debate on Wednesday night Approximately 12.8 million people watched the first Republican presidential primary debate last month, when GOP candidates faced off in Milwaukee.
Eight Republican candidates pitched their vision for the country’s future during the event, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former Vice President Mike Pence.
Candidates focused on issues like climate change, the war in Ukraine and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. But the debate also got personal, with Republican hopefuls targeting Ramaswamy’s lack of political experience, Haley’s perspective on abortion restrictions in the U.S. and more.
Donald Trump did not participate in the event, instead opting for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Political groups divide their forces between Trump speech, non-Trump debate
Some political interest groups seem more interested in Donald Trump’s speech in Michigan this week
Where is the second Republican debate?
The seven Republican presidential candidates will take the stage in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Northwest of Los Angeles, the library opened in 1991 with a ceremony that at the time boasted the largest ever gathering of former presidents and their families. The site is also the final resting place for the 40th president and his wife, Nancy Reagan. than in the challengers' debate in California.
For example: American Bridge 21st Century, a progressive group, financed a plane to fly over the site of Trump's union event with a banner saying "Trump Sold Us Out."
“It’s obvious that, barring something drastic, Donald Trump is going to be the GOP nominee next year," said Pat Dennis, president of American Bridge 21st Century. "The Republicans on the debate stage know that, too."
Groups that flooded Milwaukee for the first Republican debate are not much in evidence in Simi Valley, though the Reagan library is a fairly remote location compared to Wisconsin's Fiserv Forum.
Fox's Stuart Varney and Dana Perino, UNIVISION's Ilia Calderón are moderating
Fox News Media's Stuart Varney and Dana Perino and UNIVISION's Ilia Calderón will co-moderate the second Republican presidential primary debate.
Calderón will be the first Afro-Latina to moderate a Republican Primary Debate, according to the network.
GOP debate participants
Seven Republican candidates are expected to participate in the Wednesday debate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who qualified for the first GOP debate last month, did not make the stage this time.
Former GOP Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, pastor Ryan Binkley, radio host Larry Elder and businessman Perry Johnson did not qualify for the first or second debate.
How to watch the Republican debate tonight? What channel is it on?
Fox Business Network and Univision will broadcast the second Republican presidential primary debate. It will air at will air at 9 p.m. Eastern.
The RNC will also stream the event on video-sharing platform Rumble.
When does the Republican debate start?
The second GOP presidential primary debate will take place Wednesday, Sept. 27, will air at 9 p.m. Eastern.
The Republican candidates are set take the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday as they continue vying for their party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential race.
Fox Business Network and Univision will broadcast the second Republican presidential primary debate.
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