Ramaswamy campaign asks RNC to cut debate stage

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is asking the Republican National Committee (RNC) to cut the number of candidates for the third debate down to the top four. 

Vivek 2024 CEO Ben Yoho urged the RNC to limit the next debate to the top four candidates in national polling besides former President Trump, in a letter addressed to RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Committee on Arrangements co-Chairs David Bossie and Anne Hathaway. He also asked the RNC to raise the donor threshold to 100,000 donors. 

“But against the backdrop of a chaotic second debate and the reality of a frontrunner who has declined to participate, we respectfully call on the RNC to revise its approach so that Republican voters can focus on serious candidates who have a viable path to beating Joe Biden—or whomever the Democrats put up to replace him,” Yoho wrote in the letter obtained by The Hill. 

To qualify for the Nov. 6 debate, Republican candidates will need to show two national polls that have them at 4 percent or higher, or they’ll need to receive 4 percent support in one national poll and two different early state polls.

Candidates also need to meet a donor threshold of at least 70,000 unique donors, including at least 200 from 20 or more states each.

Besides raising the threshold, the Ramaswamy campaign is asking the RNC to provide more time for candidates to respond to their rivals and to also use a single moderator “who is able to enforce debate rules and avoid candidates indiscernibly shouting over each other.”

“Time is running out. Early-state voting is rapidly approaching in January. Another unhelpful debate in November is not an option: voters deserve a real choice for who will best serve as our party’s nominee. Voters are not well-served when a cacophony of candidates with minimal chance of success talk over each other from the edge of the stage, while the overwhelming frontrunner is absent from the center of that same stage,” Yoho wrote.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average of GOP presidential candidates, Trump continues to dominate the field by at least 40 percentage points. According to the polling average, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy and former Vice President Mike Pence are the top four GOP candidates other than Trump.