What to know about the 1st Republican presidential primary debate

The leading 2024 Republican presidential candidates are set to face off in a series of debates — the first of which is Wednesday night in Milwaukee, airing on Fox News starting at 9 p.m. EDT.

More than half a dozen White House hopefuls have met the polling and donor requirements for a spot, while others are still pushing to make it onto the stage. The front-runner, however, has declined to participate outright.

Here's what to know about the first Republican presidential primary debate and the debates coming later in the election season.

How to watch the debate

The two-hour debate will air on Fox News and anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate it.

ABC News and FiveThirtyEight will have live updates online of the latest action on the debate stage as well as analysis on the biggest takeaways from the night.

MORE: The cutoff to qualify for the 1st GOP primary debate is Monday night. Who's in?

Who will be participating in the presidential debate?

Eight candidates are confirmed to have met the Republican National Committee qualifications to attend.

They are: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a town hall event in Hollis, N.H., June 27, 2023.Josh Reynolds/AP

Former President Donald Trump would also have qualified — except that he isn't going. He wrote in a post on his social media site on Sunday that he will skip the debate, saying that the public already knows who he is. He has also cited his enormous lead in early polls.

The GOP front-runner will instead release a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News over the weekend.

Several other candidates are still making last-ditch efforts to participate. The deadline to qualify is Monday night, 48 hours before the debate.

Michigan businessman Perry Johnson appears to have met the requirements needed to make the stage, though he has not been confirmed by the RNC and has not yet signed a loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee. Two other candidates — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd — have claimed they have cleared the donor requirements. Suarez also claimed he has met the polling benchmarks, which was refuted by the party, while Hurd's campaign has said they're having the RNC review a number of their qualifying polls.

Conservative radio host Larry Elder has not met the polling requirements to qualify for the debate.

A Republican Debate sign is up outside Fiserv Forum in preparation of the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, Aug. 21, 2023.Mike De Sisti /The Milwaukee Journal/USA Today

What do candidates have to do to qualify for the debate stage?

The RNC set polling and donor requirements that candidates needed to fulfill to get on the first debate stage.

To qualify in Milwaukee, candidates needed to earn at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls between July 1 and Monday. Also, they must have a minimum of 40,000 donors, with at least 200 donors in 20 or more states.

Additionally, candidates must also sign the pledge to support the eventual party nominee and not participate in non-RNC sanctioned debates.

The format and topics of the first debate

Candidates are expected to tackle many different topics.

While Trump isn't expected to attend, he will likely be part of the discussion. The former president is facing four criminal indictments, and how other candidates react to his charges will "be interesting," moderator Baier told Deadline.

"In the GOP primary, we have seen these indictments increase his polling numbers, increase his fundraising. … How others react to it and how differently they approach it will be a part of this primary and this debate," Baier said.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Abortion and the U.S. role in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion are also topics the moderators plan to ask candidates about during the debate, MacCullum told TVNewser.

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott speaks at the “Roast and Ride” event hosted by U.S. Senator Joni Ernst while campaigning in Des Moines, Iowa, June 3, 2023.Dave Kaup/Reuters

The candidates will not give opening statements and will have one minute to answer questions. They will have 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups and 45 seconds for closing statements, according to details Fox News shared with candidates ahead of the debate.

"Best efforts will be made to ensure a fair and robust discussion, giving every candidate the opportunity to answer questions and react to others," the candidate-provided debate details state.

Mics will be attached to all candidate podiums and will be turned on at all times.

Why is the first debate in Milwaukee?

Republicans chose Milwaukee for the location of the first debate and for the Republican National Convention in July 2024, a likely reflection of Wisconsin's electoral importance as a key swing state.

Four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point in Wisconsin. In 2020, President Joe Biden won by only about 21,000 votes — a .56% margin; in 2016, Trump won with .77%.