Republican presidential primary debate (January 10, 2024)
CNN held a presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. The debate took place five days before the Iowa Republican caucus. It was the fifth Republican primary debate scheduled for the 2024 presidential election.
This was the first debate of the Republican presidential primary held after the Republican National Committee lifted its ban on debates not sanctioned by the RNC.
This page provides an overview of the hosts, venue, moderators, qualifications, and participants.
HIGHLIGHTS
Click here for a summary of the fourth Republican presidential primary debate on December 6, 2023.
Click here for a summary of the sixth Republican presidential primary debate on January 18, 2024.
Debate overview
Video
- Read the first half of the CNN debate transcript here.
- Read the second half of the CNN debate transcript here.
Candidate highlights
This section includes highlights for each presidential candidate with a focus on policy. The following paraphrased statements were compiled from debate transcripts. A candidate's opponents are generally not mentioned in his or her summary unless there was a significant exchange between them.
Ron DeSantis discussed electability, Donald Trump, the economy, the administrative state, energy, immigration, foreign policy, sex and gender issues, education, China, Social Security, abortion, coronavirus response, Trump’s indictments, and healthcare. DeSantis said he beat the left in Florida. DeSantis said Trump did not deliver on the border wall, draining the swamp, or on eliminating the national debt. DeSantis said he would battle spending, pay down the national debt, and increase energy production to reduce inflation. DeSantis said he supported no income tax up to 40 or 50 thousand dollars and a flat tax rate above that point. DeSantis said the IRS, FBI, and DoJ were being weaponized against conservatives. DeSantis said he supported energy independence and that he would reverse Biden’s energy policies. DeSantis said he would build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and deport all illegal immigrants who entered during the Biden administration. DeSantis said America should stop funding Ukraine and find a way to end the Russia-Ukraine war. DeSantis said America should support Israel. DeSantis said he opposed a two-state solution. DeSantis said it was wrong to tell children they can change their gender. DeSantis said he opposed teachers’ unions and supported universal school choice at the federal level, empowering parents, dissolving the Department of Education, and leaving school curriculum decisions to states. DeSantis said America should invest in more hard power in the Indo-Pacific and decouple America’s economy from China by manufacturing pharmaceuticals and military weaponry domestically. DeSantis said he would not raise the retirement age in the face of declining life expectancy. On abortion, DeSantis said he stood strongly for a culture of life. On COVID, DeSantis criticized school closures , mask and vaccine requirements, and the CDC, NIH, and FDA. DeSantis said Trump’s federal indictment in D.C. will distract from the failures of the Democratic Party. DeSantis said he would return Medicaid funds to states as block grants. DeSantis said he would restore funding to mental health institutions and expand veteran mental healthcare services.
Nikki Haley discussed electability, Donald Trump, the economy, immigration, foreign policy, sex and gender issues, education, Social Security, abortion, election integrity, healthcare, climate, crime, and racism and violence. Haley said she would be a new generational leader. She said Trump should have been at the debate defending his record. Haley said Republicans and Democrats have both spent wastefully. She said she would balance the budget, veto spending above pre-COVID levels, eliminate the federal gas and diesel tax, and reduce small business taxes. Haley said she would make E-Verify national, add 25,000 border and ICE agents, defund sanctuary cities, reimplement a Remain in Mexico policy, and deport illegal immigrants. Haley said she supported giving Ukraine weapons, and that if Russia is not stopped they would draw America into a war by invading a NATO country. Haley said America should provide Israel whatever it needs to eliminate Hamas and bring the hostages home. Haley said she opposed transgender healthcare for those under 18. On education, Haley said she would give more authority to states, increase transparency for parents, support school choice, and increase vocational classes in high schools. Haley said America should stop sharing technology with China, build up the American military, and increase domestic manufacturing and trade with allied countries to reduce trade with China. Haley said she would increase the retirement age for people currently in their 20s. Haley said she was unapologetically pro-life, and that abortion should not be demonized or politicized. Haley said she supported voter ID, verifying absentee ballot signatures, and counting ballots on election day. On healthcare, Haley said she would give Medicaid funds to the states, increase transparency, reduce costs, increase competition, and increase access to mental healthcare. On climate, Haley said she would hold China and India accountable for emissions, and that she opposed electric vehicle subsidies. On crime, Haley said she would support law enforcement by holding prosecutors accountable. Haley said after the Mother Emanuel shooting in South Carolina, the state avoided rioting because she brought people together by supporting body cams and bringing the Confederate flag down.
Who qualified?
The following candidates qualified to participate in the debate:
- Ron DeSantis (R)
- Nikki Haley (R)
Donald Trump (R) met the polling threshold necessary to qualify for the debate, but he declined to participate. Instead he appeared in a televised Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa. Click here to watch a video of the event.
The two candidates who qualified for the fourth debate but not the fifth were Chris Christie (R) and Vivek Ramaswamy (R). Christie held a town hall in Windham, New Hampshire, the evening of the debate, where he announced he was suspending his presidential campaign. Click here to watch a video of the event. Ramaswamy appeared in a live recording of the Timcast IRL podcast in Des Moines, Iowa. Click here to watch a video of the podcast.
Venue
CNN announced on December 7, 2023, that the debate would take place in Des Moines, Iowa on January 10, 2024, five days before the Iowa Republican caucus. The announcement said the debate would be held at Drake University.
In the announcement, CNN said, "The [debate] will provide Republican voters an opportunity to hear the governing philosophies of the leading candidates seeking to challenge the likely Democratic presidential nominee, President Joe Biden, in November."[1]
Qualifications
Candidate status
A candidate had to meet the constitutional requirements to be eligible, have declared their candidacy, and have active statements of candidacy and organization filed with the Federal Election Commission.[1]
Polling
No later than January 2, 2024, a candidate had to receive 10 percent support or more in three separate national and/or Iowa polls. Recognized polls had to begin their surveys no earlier than October 15, 2023, and not later than January 2, 2024, at 12:05 p.m.. Recognized polls had to meet CNN's standards for reporting. The network said the following pollsters had released polls that met those standards: CNN, CNN/University of New Hampshire, Fox News, Marquette University Law School, Monmouth University, Monmouth University/The Washington Post, NBC News, NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom, Quinnipiac University, CBS News/YouGov, Marist College, The New York Times/Siena College, the Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post/ABC News.[1]
Candidate pledge
Candidates had to agree to accept the rules and format of the debate.[1]
Republican presidential primary debates, 2023-2024
The following table provides an overview of the date, location, host, and number of participants in each scheduled 2024 Republican presidential primary debate.
| 2024 Republican presidential primary debates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debate | Date | Location | Host | Number of participants |
| First Republican primary debate | August 23, 2023 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin[2] | Fox News[3] | 8 |
| Second Republican primary debate | September 27, 2023 | Simi Valley, California[4] | Fox Business, Univision | 7 |
| Third Republican primary debate | November 8, 2023 | Miami, Florida[5] | NBC News, Salem Radio Network | 5 |
| Fourth Republican primary debate | December 6, 2023 | Tuscaloosa, Alabama[6] | NewsNation, The Megyn Kelly Show, the Washington Free Beacon | 4 |
| On December 7, 2023, CNN reported the RNC would lift its ban on non-RNC sanctioned debates.[7] | ||||
| Fifth Republican primary debate | January 10, 2024 | Des Moines, Iowa[7] | CNN | 2 |
| Sixth Republican primary debate | January 18, 2024 | Manchester, New Hampshire[8] | ABC News, WMUR-TV, New Hampshire Republican State Committee | Cancelled |
| Seventh Republican primary debate | January 21, 2024 | Goffstown, New Hampshire[7] | CNN | Cancelled |
Republican primary debate participation, 2023
Historical analysis, 2016-2024
The section below provides analysis of presidential primary debate participation in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
Number of debates and participants
Participation by presidential nominees
The table below indicates whether the Democratic or Republican Party presidential nominees participated in each presidential primary debate in 2016 and 2020.
The 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden (D), and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton (D), both participated in all of the primary debates during their respective election cycles.
Donald Trump (R), the 2016 Republican presidential nominee, did not participate in the seventh Republican primary debate that cycle. At the time, Trump's campaign said, "Unlike the very stupid, highly incompetent people running our country into the ground, Mr. Trump knows when to walk away. Roger Ailes and FOX News think they can toy with him, but Mr. Trump doesn’t play games."[9]
Trump also declined to attend a primary debate originally scheduled for March 21, 2016. Former Ohio Governor John Kasich (R), who was also running for the nomination, said he wouldn't attend if Trump didn't, leaving Ted Cruz (R) as the only active candidate who said he would participate. The debate was subsequently canceled.[10]
| Presidential nominee primary debate participation, 2016-2020 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nominee | First debate | Second debate | Third debate | Fourth debate | Fifth debate | Sixth debate | Seventh debate | Eighth debate | Ninth debate | Tenth debate | Eleventh debate | Twelfth debate |
| 2020 | Joe Biden (D) |  |
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N/A |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton (D) | |
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N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2016 | Donald Trump (R) | |
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Primary debate criteria, 2016-2024
The table below provides an overview of the polling and fundraising criteria for the first five primary debates in 2016, 2020, and 2024
| Primary debate criteria, 2016-2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | First debate | Second debate | Third debate | Fourth debate | Fifth debate |
| 2024 Republican primary | Polling: 1% support in three national polls, or 1% support in two national polls and one early state poll; and Fundraising: 40,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states. |
Polling: 3% support in two national polls, or 3% support in one national poll and two early state polls; and Fundraising: 50,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states. | Polling: 4% support in two national polls, or 4% support in one national poll and two early state polls; and Fundraising: 70,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states. | Polling: 6% support in two national polls, or 6% support in two early state polls; and Fundraising: 80,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states. | Polling: 10% support in three national or Iowa polls |
| 2020 Democratic primary | Polling: 1% support in three national or early state polls; or Fundraising: 65,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states.[11] | Polling: 2% support in four national or early state polls; or Fundraising: 130,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 400 unique donors per state in at least 20 states.[12] | Polling: 3% support in four national or early state polls, or 5% support in at least two early state polls; or Fundraising: 165,000 unique campaign donors, with a minimum of 600 unique donors per state in at least 20 states. | ||
| 2016 Democratic primary | Polling: 1% support in three national polls[13] | ||||
| 2016 Republican primary | Polling: 10 highest-polling candidates in 5 most recent recognized national polls | Polling: 1% support in three national polls | Polling: Average of 3% in six recognized national polls[14] | Polling: Average of 2.5% in four recognized national polls.[15] | Polling: In recognized polls, receive an average of 3.5%, or 4% in either Iowa or New Hampshire.[16] |
See also
Use the dropdown menu below to navigate Ballotpedia's coverage of 2024 Republican presidential primary debates.
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 CNN, "CNN to host two GOP presidential primary debates in 2024," December 7, 2023
- ↑ The Hill, "RNC votes to hold first presidential debate in Milwaukee," February 23, 2023
- ↑ Fox News, "Fox News will host first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee," April 12, 2023
- ↑ The Hill, "McDaniel announces California will host second GOP debate for 2024," April 20, 2023
- ↑ Reuters, "Third Republican primary debate to be in Miami in early November," September 14, 2023
- ↑ Associated Press, "Qualification markers grow even tougher for next month’s 4th GOP presidential debate, in Alabama," November 3, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 CNN, "CNN to host two GOP presidential primary debates in 2024," December 7, 2023
- ↑ ABC News, "ABC News to host GOP presidential debate before New Hampshire primary," December 7, 2023
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump says he won’t participate in GOP debate on Fox News," January 26, 2016
- ↑ NBC News, "2016 GOP Debate Cancelled After Trump Says He Won't Attend," March 16, 2016
- ↑ The first and second primary debates had the same qualification criteria.
- ↑ The third and fourth primary debates had the same qualification criteria.
- ↑ The first through fifth primary debates had the same qualification criteria.
- ↑ This is the criteria for the 8:00 p.m. debate. The 6:00 p.m. debate required candidates to have 1% in any one of the recognized polls.
- ↑ This is the criteria for the 9:00 p.m. debate. The 7:00 p.m. debate required candidates to have 1% in any one of the recognized polls.
- ↑ This is the criteria for the 8:30 p.m. debate. The 6:00 p.m. debate required candidates to have 1% in four separate national, Iowa, or New Hampshire recognized polls.
