RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on April 20 in Simi Valley, California. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
The Republican National Committee announced Wednesday that Fox Business will host the second Republican primary debate.
Why it matters: Fox networks will now televise the first two debates of the Republican primary. The first debate is scheduled for Aug. 23 and will be aired by Fox News, a sister station to Fox Business.
Driving the news: The RNC said that the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Univision and Rumble will also be partners for the debate, which will be held on Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Univision will also televise the debate, per the RNC.
- "We are looking forward to continuing our fair, neutral and transparent primary process in Simi Valley to elect the next President of the United States," RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said in a press release.
Between the lines: The RNC has been privately laying out the donor thresholds for the debates to campaigns, with the September debate expected to require 50,000 donors to qualify, Axios previously reported.
- The threshold for the August debate is 40,000 donors, including at least 200 unique donors in each of 20 states.
- Seven Republican candidates have appeared to qualify for the August debate so far: Trump; former Vice President Mike Pence; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; former UN ambassador Nikki Haley; entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.); and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
The bottom line: Trump, who has not yet committed to participating in the first debate, has criticized Fox News' coverage of him and has felt snubbed by the network's coverage of DeSantis, Axios reported in early June.
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