The number of candidates on stage is shrinking, but the fundamentals of Wednesday's Republican presidential debate may be familiar to anyone who has watched the previous three meetings. APR news previewed the event nationally for NPR on “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition Sunday.” Links to both stories are at the bottom of this article.
No one has yet emerged as the clear Republican alternative to former President Donald Trump, whose lead is so big that he has skipped all the debates. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appear to be leading the fight for a distant second place, yet conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are still factors.
The setting for the fourth GOP debate is the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Alabama voters will make their presidential picks on March 5, part of more than a dozen Super Tuesday states. That's when the largest number of delegates is up for grabs of any single day in the primary cycle.
In general elections, the state has been in the red column for decades, last supporting a Democrat for president when Jimmy Carter ran in 1976.
Which candidates will be on stage?
Four Republicans will be on the debate stage, the smallest field yet as polling and donor benchmarks for qualification rise.
DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley and Christie met the Republican National Committee's requirements to participate in Wednesday's event in Tuscaloosa.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott was on stage for the third debate but has since shuttered his presidential campaign. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who didn't qualify for the third debate, suspended his campaign earlier this week.
Trump will hold a fundraiser in Florida in lieu of participating.
Small stage, big opportunity?
Just four Republicans will share the stage, the smallest crowd to date. For context, at this point in the 2016 Republican primary, there were still more than a dozen candidates featured on two debate stages.
Fewer candidates, of course, means more airtime for each on national television. The big question: Can any of the participants take advantage of the opportunity and change the trajectory of the race?
This is the final scheduled debate, although at least one more is likely in the days before Iowa's Jan. 15 caucuses.
Can Haley convince skeptical Republicans?
Of all the candidates on stage, Haley has shown real signs of growing interest in her campaign, including high-profile endorsements, large crowds and some polling gains in key early states.
But she's most popular among the donor class, moderates and the relatively small NeverTrump wing of the party. It's hard to win a Republican primary in 2024 with such a coalition.
To take a big step forward, she's needs to convince more hardcore conservatives and Trump voters that she's conservative enough.
Part of Haley's problem, of course, is that the definition of conservative has changed in the Trump era. These days, it's got far more to do with fealty to Trump, an "America First" foreign policy and a focus on culture wars rather than the traditional conservative emphasis on fiscal discipline, social issues and a muscular foreign policy.
In recent days, DeSantis has gone after Haley for supposedly embracing a liberal policy on legal immigration and for failing to wade into the fight over transgender bathroom use while she was South Carolina's governor.
Such issues touch on the very heart of what it means to be a conservative in 2024. How she handles them on stage Wednesday night may determine if she can attract the conservative coalition she needs to emerge as a true threat to Trump.
Will woke return?
One of the more remarkable shifts in the Republican presidential primary over the last year has been the candidates' move away from the word "woke."
Two of the four candidates on stage, DeSantis and Ramaswamy, built their political brands on their opposition to so-called woke policies designed to offer protections for women, racial minorities and the LGBTQ community.
DeSantis launched his presidential campaign this spring by reminding voters that Florida is "where woke goes to die." Ramaswamy referred to himself as the intellectual godfather of the anti-woke movement.
Yet in the last debate, the word "woke" was referenced only twice.
That could change on Wednesday, especially with conservative Megyn Kelly serving as one of the moderators.
Kelly has been eager to attack the woke movement when given the opportunity. Over the summer, she went after Disney for introducing more racial minorities and LGBTQ characters in its recent films.
DeSantis led a high-profile fight against Disney that was a pillar of his early campaign messaging. While he has largely avoided the topic in recent debates, Kelly may press the issue this time around.
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