Who are the Republican Party presidential candidates?
There are eight candidates at the debate tonight with Donald Trump absent. They have a job to catch up with him.
Republican candidates are jostling for position to be the one to take on former president Donald Trump to be the Republican party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential elections.
The first Republican presidential primary debate will take place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday 23 August beginning at 9 pm ET. The face off between the GOP contenders for their party’s nomination is expected last roughly two hours, though Trump will not be making an appearance.
Donald Trump
He doesn’t really need an introduction. Numerous criminal cases launched against him have done little to stop his charge toward a third run for the presidency; no other Republican candidate comes close to dethroning him.
The best of the rest
Ron DeSantis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ranks second in the polls behind Trump, launched his campaign for the US presidency last week through an announcement on Twitter that was bogged down by technical glitches.
Former President Donald Trump was quick to criticise the launch on Truth Social. He had already been bashing the Florida Governor on his social media platform, referring to him as “Rob DeSanctimonious”.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Ramaswamy is a biotechnology and health care entrepreneur. Like DeSantis, he is also vocal about opposing “wokeness”, and authored a book entitled “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam”.
Mike Pence
Former vice president Mike Pence will be facing former boss Donald Trump in the presidential run; his candidacy shows their dramatic break-up.
The biggest bone of contention was Pence’s refusal to call for the overturn of the 2020 election results. The ex-vice president wrote about how this issue widened their rift in his memoir, “So Help Me God”, released late last year. Years after the violence and in the run-up to the primaries, Pence has been more vocal about Trump, saying that the former president’s reckless words endangered everyone at the Capitol on 6 January.
Nikki Haley
Haley began her political career in 2004 when she was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 2011, she became the first female governor of the state, then Trump appointed her ambassador to the United Nations in 2017.
Tim Scott
Scott is a South Carolina senator, the only Black Republican in the US Senate. He was also elected to the US House of Representatives. He made history as the first Black American to serve in both the House and the Senate.
Chris Christie
One of Chris Christie’s, former governor of New Jersey, central campaign points is his refusal to back Donald Trump. Though angering many Trump loyalists, also known as the majority of the party, it offers opponents of the former president a rallying figure.
Asa Hutchinson
Hutchinson has been elected Governor of Arkansas twice and was also a congressman. Aside from his elective positions, he also served under the administration of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Doug Burgum
Doug Burgum is the Governor of North Dakota, a position he has held since December 15, 2016.