The next Republican Debate, the first of 2016 and sixth overall for the GOP before the 2016 election, will be held at the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday, January 14, 2016. Like the fourth Republican debate for the Fall 2016 Presidential Election, it will air on the Fox Business Network. Unlike the Democratic debate that will air only a few days later, very little is known about the start time and schedule of the first 2016 Republican debate.
According to Politico, the debate is in place of one that had been tentatively scheduled to take place in Lynchburg, Virginia on January 16, to be hosted by conservative media outlets at Liberty University.
This date will be two days after President Obama's State of the Union address and two-and-a-half weeks before the Iowa caucuses. According to Fox Business News, this next debate will follow a similar format to the network's inaugural debate, focusing on economic, domestic, and international policy issues.
These debates will factor in the both the national polls, as well as those based in Iowa and the New Hampshire conducted and released prior to Monday, January 11 at 6 PM/ET. This primetime debate will feature candidates that place in the top six nationally and place within the top five in Iowa or New Hampshire while the remaining candidates will be invited to the early debate.
To qualify for the primetime debate, the candidates must either place in the top six nationally, based on an average of the five most recent national polls recognized by FOX News. That, or place in the top five in Iowa, based on an average of the five most recent Iowa state polls recognized by FOX News. That, or place in the top five in New Hampshire, based on an average of the five most recent New Hampshire state polls recognized by FOX News.
According to The Atlantic, having just six candidates of the GOP on the main stage could cut out candidates like Rand Paul, John Kasich, and Carly Fiorina not making the primetime cut.
Not only is it presently known at this time what candidates will appear, but the scheduled time has also not yet made available. For those that want to live stream or watch online, hopefully, Fox Business will do what they did last time they hosted the debate and live stream the event. That time, they teamed up with other television providers to grant temporary free access to its Business Channel, as this station is often included as a "premium" option for many cable partners.
Just after the first Republican debate of 2016 will be the first Democratic debate of 2016 which will be held on January 17th in Charleston, South Carolina. Looking ahead to the election, the second Republican Debate of 2016 will air on January 28, 2016, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa on FOX News. Then there will be another Republican debate on February 6, 2016, at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. The next Democratic debate will be held five days, later on, Thursday, February 11, 2016, and it will be sponsored by PBS and held in Wisconsin.
