The last GOP debate ended without the presence of Donald Trump, who conducted his own campaign rally in Des Moines. But now, the real estate mogul said he is not planning to ditch the next debate. Here's what we know so far about the next Republican debate which is scheduled to happen on Feb. 6, 8 pm ET at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.
When the real estate mogul was asked whether he will participate in the upcoming Republican debate, "I think I will be, yeah," Trump told in NH1 News. "I look forward to it." He stressed that he will be in New Hampshire doing the debates.
The Feb. 6 GOP debate takes place three days before the New Hampshire voters decide their presidential bets, so expect Republican hopefuls to give their best shot to win the voters' approval. According to CNN Money, the Feb. 6 event will feature just one debate, and that debate will exclude bottom-tier candidates.
For the first time in the Republican debate history, there are no more "undercard debates." The changes are brought by the improvements in the criteria. In order to belong in the primary debate, candidates have three different options, CBS News published.
First, they must be among the top three candidates ranked according to the popular vote in the Iowa Republican caucuses on February 1, 2016. Second, they should land on the top six candidates from New Hampshire GOP presidential polls that are recognized by ABC News, and the polls should be conducted no earlier than Jan. 1 and published before 5 PM ET next Friday. Lastly, the qualified candidates must be placed among the top six in an average of national GOP presidential polls recognized by the ABC News.
Based on the current criteria, it would eliminate Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee in the presidential elections. The next primary debate will likely feature certain candidates like Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Donald Trump.
Here are the basic facts about the upcoming GOP debate:
Location: St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire
Start Time: 5 PM Pacific Time, 8 PM Eastern Time
Date: Feb 6, 2016
TV: ABC
Live Stream: ABC GO
ABC News anchors David Muir and Martha Raddatz are tasked to moderate the debate. Also, WMUR Political Director Josh McElveen will join the discussions.
