The Republican Party Is Weighing a Rule Change That Could Lead to Debate-o-Mania

Reeling from a string of abnormally unpopular primary debates, the Republican National Committee is considering a rule change that would allow the party’s presidential candidates to participate in unsanctioned debates. Previously, the RNC, which will host its fourth and potentially final onstage sparring of the primary cycle on Wednesday, has barred candidates from debating one another without its consent.

However, according to a New York Times report Monday, the committee has discussed dropping that requirement, opening the door for, say, a one-on-one debate pitting long-shot presidential hopefuls like former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy against each other. The two Republicans, hoping to raise their visibility earlier in the race, had sought out that exact scenario in a debate that would have aired on Fox News had the RNC not stepped in. Should the exclusivity pledge be dropped, it could put the kibosh on the RNC’s planned January debates in Iowa and New Hampshire, allowing for news networks or other interested parties to organize independent forums instead. (While not debates, CNN did announce Tuesday that it will host December town halls in Iowa with Ramaswamy and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.)

Wednesday’s clash will air on NewsNation and feature Christie, Ramaswamy, DeSantis, and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Missing from the stage once again will be Donald Trump, whose strategic absences are likely to blame for the low ratings that met the first three debates. (In the 2020 primaries, the inaugural debate had 19 million viewers; the same event this cycle drew just 12.8 million.)

The candidate with the most momentum entering the debate is Haley, who is attempting to bill herself as the consensus alternative to Trump. She has already earned that title with high-profile donors, and among likely Republican voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina but still trails DeSantis nationally and in Iowa, the home of the first-in-the-nation primary contest. Meanwhile, some Republicans are urging Christie to terminate his explicitly anti-Trump campaign—the assumption being that his supporters will go to Haley should he drop out. Christie is performing best in New Hampshire, polling just above 10%. In Iowa, he has mustered a mere 3.8%—no doubt a meager showing but still better than the less-than-2% support he has in South Carolina. 

“The people who are supporting Chris are not supporting him because they love Chris Christie—they want someone to take on Trump,” Rick Santorum, a former Republican senator, told the Times. “He has a really important decision to make as to whether to back out and let his votes go to somebody else, or whether he’s going to actually improve Trump’s chances by staying in.” Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump Republican strategist, was more explicit, telling the paper, “The main thing that Christie could do to make a difference this time is to drop out.”

Of course, Haley would also need DeSantis to drop out to have even a marginal chance at competing with Trump. Despite suffering a series of polling and funding setbacks in recent months, DeSantis still leads Haley by more than two and a half points in Iowa, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average.