5 candidates to participate in third Republican primary debate

Nov. 7 (UPI) -- At least five candidates are set to take the stage in Miami on Wednesday for the third Republican primary debate and former President Donald Trump will again not be one of them.

The candidates who have qualified for Wednesday's debate are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson remain in the race but failed to qualify for the latest debate. Former Vice President Mike Pence is the most recent candidate to drop out.

To meet the criteria, candidates were required to be polling at 4% in two national polls or one national poll and one early-voting state poll. Early voting states are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Polling must have been conducted after Sept. 1.

They also had to have at least 70,000 unique donors and 200 unique donors in 20 different states or territories.

The debate will be broadcast on NBC News and streaming on its website from 8 to 10 p.m. EST. It will be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.

It will be the first debate since the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas was ignited on Oct. 7. Candidates have been pressed on the war in Ukraine in the first two debates. On Wednesday, they will likely be pressed on the war in the Middle East where more than 9,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have died, according to the U.N.

The Republican National Committee has announced that the fourth debate will be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 6. The criteria will again be raised as the field continues to whittle down.

Candidates will need to poll at 6% in two national polls or one national poll and one early voting state poll. They also need 80,000 unique donors.

Trump, who did not participate in either of the first two primary debates, is again expected to skip Wednesday's debate. He has been a fixture in a New York courtroom as his company faces penalties over alleged fraud.

While Trump has been outspoken in his criticism of the multiple cases against him, he has also been outspoken against the RNC's debates. He announced in August that he would not participate in the debates, and has since called for Wednesday's debate and all future debates to be canceled.

Trump is instead set to hold a counterprogramming event where Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former press secretary, is set to endorse him.