Republican presidential hopefuls to duke it out onstage in Reagan Library debate

The second Republican presidential primary debate is set to begin in just hours in Simi Valley, California, where seven presidential hopefuls will begin battling, hoping to seize momentum in the race for the GOP nomination.

The debate, which will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, will be televised on the FOX Business Network (FBN) and Univision from 9-11 pm ET.

The White House contenders, in alphabetical order, are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Standing at the center of the stage will be DeSantis, with Haley and Ramaswamy on either side of him. 

Christie and Scott will be standing alongside Haley and Ramaswamy. And standing on the wings of the debate stage will be Burgum and Pence. 

A Republican National Committee (RNC) release from early June stated that "qualified candidates will be placed on stage according to polling, with the highest polling candidate in the center."

To participate in the second debate, candidates needed to reach polling and donor thresholds set by the RNC. Candidates were also required to sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the debate is an "opportunity" for the GOP to share its "diverse candidate field with the American people." 

"The Republican Party is united around one common goal — Beating Biden — and there is no better place to showcase our conservative vision for the future than the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library," McDaniel said. 

Notably absent from the stage, again, will be former President Donald Trump, who holds a massive lead over the Republican primary field. Trump did not sign the pledge.

The most recent Fox News poll shows 60% of Republican primary voters supporting Trump for the GOP nomination — that’s up from 53% in the last survey in August. 

The only other candidates to receive double-digit support in that poll are DeSantis at 13% and Ramaswamy at 11%.

Haley sits at 5%, with Pence and Scott at 3% each. Christie is polling at 2%, with the remaining GOP candidates receiving less than 1%.

And according to a new Washington Post/ABC poll from over the weekend, Trump is currently leading President Biden by 10 points in a head-to-head general election survey among voters. The poll said if the 2024 presidential election were held today, Trump would win 52% to 42% over Biden.

Meanwhile, Biden's approval rating sits at 37%, according to the poll, while 56% of respondents actively disapprove of his presidency.