--- title: Which Republican Candidates Qualified for Fourth GOP Debate? description: The fourth Republican debate on Dec. 6 will be the smallest yet, with four candidates participating. Here's what we know. canonical: https://time.com/6341333/next-republican-debate-desantis-qualify/ author: Mini Racker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-12-01T16:30:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-05T03:19:06.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Which Candidates Qualified for the Fourth GOP Debate? og:description: The fourth Republican debate on Dec. 6 will be the smallest yet. og:url: https://time.com/6341333/next-republican-debate-desantis-qualify/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c10b4e5254ec32a/698a42d9e6e84a32e02b0c34/GettyImages-1783036363.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Smaller Group Of Candidates Attends Third GOP Presidential Debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Which Candidates Qualified for the Fourth GOP Debate? twitter:description: The fourth Republican debate on Dec. 6 will be the smallest yet. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c10b4e5254ec32a/698a42d9e6e84a32e02b0c34/GettyImages-1783036363.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Which Candidates Will Be on Stage for the Fourth Republican Debate? > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Republican Candidates Discuss Foreign Policy in the Midst of Israel-Hamas War [Watch (HLS stream): Republican Candidates Discuss Foreign Policy in the Midst of Israel-Hamas War](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0AEjd7BG.m3u8) (0:32)  _Published 2023-11-09. In their first debate since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the Republican presidential candidates all declared hawkish support for Israel but squabbled over China and Ukraine as they faced growing pressure to try to catch Donald Trump, who was again absent._  by [Mini Racker](https://time.com/author/mini-racker/)  ## Mini Racker Updated: Dec 5, 2023 3:19 AM UTCPublished: Dec 1, 2023 4:30 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy during the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate on Nov. 8, 2023 in Miami Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy during the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate on Nov. 8, 2023 in Miami Joe Raedle—Getty Images  by [Mini Racker](https://time.com/author/mini-racker/)  ## Mini Racker Updated: Dec 5, 2023 3:19 AM UTCPublished: Dec 1, 2023 4:30 PM UTC The Iowa caucuses are a little more than a month away, and the Republican presidential candidates are running out of opportunities to prove themselves. On December 6, four candidates will gather in Tuscaloosa, AL for the fourth—and possibly the last—primary debate before voters weigh in. Once again, former President Donald Trump is planning to skip the event as he continues to hold an increasingly insurmountable lead in the polls. He is expected to hold a private fundraiser instead, [according to NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-will-hold-fundraiser-republican-debate-rcna127322?). The debate stage will be the smallest yet. To qualify, the Republican National Committee required candidates to have drawn donations from 80,000 individuals, including at least 200 donors from at least 20 different states. They also needed to show having 6% support in two qualifying national polls or in a combination of one national poll and one poll from two different early states. Additionally, they must have signed a loyalty pledge agreeing to support whoever the party eventually nominates. Five candidates attended the last debate, but one of them, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, dropped out of the race shortly afterwards. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who failed to qualify for the last debate, dropped out of the race on Monday before the RNC had announced the participants of the Alabama debate. ### More From TIME ## Here are the candidates who will be on the debate stage: ## Nikki Haley Off the back of her strong performances in previous debates, Haley, Trump’s former Ambassador to the United Nations and a former governor of South Carolina, has steadily gained in the polls while attracting renewed attention from influential Republicans. Many are drawn to her foreign policy credentials and her calls to focus on finding a “consensus” on abortion that can pass Congress. Since Scott, the other South Carolina politician in the race, dropped out last month, Haley has picked up more support from the state’s deep-pocketed donors, as well as Wall Street bigwigs. Most recently, she earned an endorsement from Americans for Prosperity, the major advocacy group in the Koch political network. Some national surveys have found Haley running in second place to the former president, and she is running firmly in second in New Hampshire. With the first nominating contests less than 45 days away, Haley appears to be solidifying the support of Trump-averse Republicans who are hoping against hope that the party avoids a 2020 general election rematch. ## Ron DeSantis The [fight between Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis](https://time.com/6332400/republican-debate-israel-nikki-haley-ron-desantis/) to define themselves as the best alternative to Trump has continued throughout November. One place where DeSantis has strengthened his position is in Iowa, where he earned the endorsement of Governor Kim Reynolds, as well as that of Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Iowa-based conservative group The Family Leader. But even there, he faces stiff competition from Haley, who has been rising in polls of the Hawkeye state. Still, DeSantis often places second in polls of Iowa, and in national polls. After his campaign got off to a rocky start, highlighting controversial culture war issues, he has more recently emphasized his record in Florida, where he won reelection last year by 20 points after rejecting COVID-19 restrictions. (His approach to the pandemic was [one key topic](https://time.com/6341268/desantis-newsom-debate-winners-losers/) in an unusual debate on Thursday that pitted him against California Governor Gavin Newsom.) DeSantissigned a law in Florida this year that would ban most abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy. Hehas committed to supporting a 15-week national ban. ## Vivek Ramaswamy While he got plenty of attention for his attacks on other candidates and even the moderators at [the last debate](https://time.com/6333316/third-republican-debate-biggest-moments/), biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has not gained much ground in the polls. He has continued to draw little contrast between himself and the former President; in fact, his political director recently left his campaign to join Trump’s. He has continued to slam elected Republicans, make pledges to slash positions in federal agencies, and issue warnings about [preventing World War III](https://time.com/6336897/israel-war-gaza-world-war-iii/). But Ramaswamy has made some strategic shifts. After risingto prominence running an [unconventional campaign](https://time.com/6305440/vivek-ramaswamy-interview-republican-primary/), Ramaswamy has woven in more traditional approaches this fall, opening an Iowa campaign headquarters and spending millions of dollars on TV ads. ## Chris Christie Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has largely framed his campaign in opposition to Trump, is lagging behind his rivals in many polls of the nation and of Iowa, though he has outperformed some in New Hampshire, where he has focused his bid. Still, as much of the anti-Trump wing of the party has begun to consolidate around either Haley or DeSantis, some Republicans have urged Christie to drop out of the race. For his part, Christie has said he plans to continue his campaign through next summer’s Republican convention, though he has also said he might reconsider should he do poorly in the Granite State. ## Transcript My foreign policy is simple. You cannot negotiate with evil. You have to destroy it. If you are here on a student visa for Nashville, you're making common cause with Hamas. I'm cancelling your visa and I'm sending you home is just as awful as racism and we've got to make sure they're protected him for everybody. That's protesting on these college campuses in favor of her. Let me remind you something, said death to Israel and death to America. 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