Which candidates will be at the third Republican debate?

Tonight, live from Miami, Florida, a smaller group of Republican presidential candidates will take to the debate stage to try and make their case to their party’s voters. Once again, Donald Trump, the candidate leading the race by double digits, will not appear, and his absence is likely to be attacked by those who do show up. Since the last debate, former Vice President Mike Pence has dropped out of the race after failing to get his campaign off the ground.

What a candidate needs to qualify for the debate

To qualify for the third and final debate before the primaries, a candidate must meet three requirements. When it comes to polling, the magic number is four percent. A candidate has to have reached four percent in two national polls or one national poll and an additional state-level poll in one of the four states that will host their primary first (Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and Michigan). With regard to campaign donations, the candidate must have at least 70,000 individual donors. Lastly, to appear on the debate stage, the candidate must sign a pledge to promise their support to the candidate who wins the Republican primary.

Five candidates have qualified.

Will Donald Trump attend the debate?

Donald Trump is the only candidate who has not yet signed the pledge. His campaign has asked the Republican National Committee to cancel the remaining debates. Due to his refusal to sign the pledge and his rejection of holding debates altogether, it is unlikely that Trump will participate in the third debate. According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, Trump has more support from Republican voters than all other candidates in the race combined.