Third GOP debate to be held in Miami

Trump, the leading favorite, skipped the first showdown last month in Milwaukee. He is also not expected to participate in the second debate, which will take place later this month at the Ronald Reagan Library in California, although he has until September 25 – two days before the debate – to make a decision. That same week, Trump plans to attend a fundraiser and California state GOP meeting.

But if he changes his mind and decides to enter the third competition, Miami is just a short drive from his “Winter White House” at Mar-a-Lago.

The RNC has not yet announced the date, location, moderators or qualifying rules for the third debate.

In the first debate, eight candidates participated. So far, seven candidates – including Trump – have qualified for the second debate. The other six candidates are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott (RS.C. ) and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, according to POLITICO Analysis of Qualification Requirements.

Candidates need 3% support in a handful of RNC-approved polls, and at least 50,000 unique individual donors, to qualify for the second debate.

Traditionally, parties have strengthened debate qualification rules for each subsequent debate. Depending on the threshold set by the RNC, other candidates – like Scott and Christie – could be threatened by a higher national voting threshold for the third debate.