Eight Republican presidential candidates will gather in Milwaukee tonight for their first GOP debate. Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner, is skipping the debate, one day before turning himself into Georgia authorities. Some local Republicans are ready to turn the page, while others won’t rule out a third Trump nomination.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott will take the stage on FOX tonight.
To participate in national debates, candidates must tally more than 1 percent in three national polls or 1 percent support in two national polls and 1 percent in one early state poll no later than 48 hours prior to the event.
Polls show Donald Trump with a huge lead and DeSantis typically ahead of the rest.
Trump says he will be sitting out the debate, and possibly future ones too. It’s expected Trump will sit for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead. Mike Brandi, Chair of the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee, says Trump is making a mistake.
“If he has a message to communicate to the voters, he shouldn’t be shy about it. You know there’s some strategic thought there, clearly, but I think he should debate,” said Brandi.
Brandi says while he is keeping tabs on the national race, his focus is on upcoming local elections.
“It’s a big field and it shows the enthusiasm of among many of the party to try and take on Joe Biden, who I think is a pretty weak candidate historically coming up,” Brandi said. “But, you know, the election is a year from November, you know, right now my main focus is getting our local candidates here in Saratoga Springs elected in November.”
John Faso is a former New York Republican Congressman who says he voted for a third-party candidate in 2016. Speaking on WAMC’s Roundtable Panel Tuesday, he says Trump’s absence is a “political calculation.”
“He’s far ahead right now and he doesn’t need to do it,” Faso said. “And that’ll change if the political surveys, the polling surveys say something different, if the race starts to narrow.”
Alicia Purdy, a former Albany mayoral and state Assembly candidate who is working to revitalize the local party, says she wants to hear more from the women in the field.
“I would love to hear more from Nikki Haley because I would love to see a strong female president. Hillary Clinton was not that person.”
Purdy says the debate is a chance for some of the lesser-known candidates to make gains.
“Vivek Ramaswamy is another one that I think, from what I’ve read, I’d like to hear more,” Purdy said. “That’s as far as I would go. I would like to hear more. I’m interested. Even if they’re a longshot, I don’t care. And Tim Scott’s another one. I’d like to hear more. We’ve heard a lot from Ron DeSantis. We’ve heard a lot from Mike Pence. These are the people getting the press.”
Glenville Town Supervisor Chris Koetzle is the former chair of the Schenectady County GOP. He says with many months before voters head to the polls, he is keeping an open mind.
“I’m looking at a very wide field with a lot of different points of view in there so I’m keeping my options open as far as listening and learning where all these candidates are coming from,” Koetzle said. “And I think as we narrow down, you’ll start to see some people really start to coalesce around a frontrunner and I don’t know if that will be Donald Trump going into 2024 but, you know, we’ll see.”
The debate starts at 9 p.m.
