Republican National Committee to consider allowing unsanctioned debates
Republican presidential candidates participate in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum on August 23.
By Kristen Holmes, Jeff Zeleny and Daniel Strauss, CNN
(CNN) — Republican Party officials are expected next week to consider a proposal that would allow candidates to take part in presidential debates that have not been sanctioned by the party, a source familiar with the deliberations told CNN.
If adopted, the change to the rule could lead to more debates being held ahead of the early nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, including the potential for smaller one-on-one debates.
The Washington Post first reported news of the proposal being considered.
Several GOP presidential candidates have criticized the Republican National Committee over the exclusivity pledge, arguing that it has prevented meaningful confrontations at a variety of different forums. The party’s front-runner, former President Donald Trump, however, has called on the party to cancel all debates going forward.
Thus far in the 2024 presidential race, candidates have sometimes found themselves at odds with the RNC over attending events that too closely resemble a debate. On occasion candidates have been able to just barely stay within the RNC’s debate parameters by attending forums and other events that somewhat resemble a debate but aren’t carbon copies.
In November, the committee warned some of the candidates about attending a Thanksgiving forum hosted by the Family Leader, an Iowa Christian organization. A day after the RNC issued that warning the RNC and the Family Leader came to an agreement about the format for the forum that fell within acceptable parameters of its debate rules.
The next Republican debate is set to take place in Alabama on December 6. Trump is not expected to attend. The RNC has not yet announced any additional debates after that.
The consideration of more debates comes amid a broader conversation of whether the RNC will keep sponsoring its own debates. The Trump campaign has been pressuring RNC officials to end the debates.
The-CNN-Wire
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