Who's who of the 2024 presidential race: A look at candidates that made the cut ... trends now
Nine candidates of the 15 in the Republican presidential primary qualified to participate in the first primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday evening.
Only eight will appear on stage to duke it out as frontrunner former President Donald Trump skips out on the spectacle hosted by Fox News, claiming he is above debating the JV squad.
Appearing together at Fiserv Forum arena to debate are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) sets the requirements for candidates to participate.
For this first debate, candidates had to receive contributions from 40,000 unique donors, with 200 from each of 20 different states or territories. They also had to poll above 1 percent in three national polls – or two national and one from two different early primary contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Nine Republican candidates met the polling and donor requirements to make the first 2024 debate stage, but only eight will participate because Donald Trump is refusing to participate. He also said he would not sign the pledge to support the eventual nominee. Six candidates in the race did not meet the thresholds, even though three of them insists that they did
All eight candidates, and some who didn't make the cut, are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the debate at Fiserv Forum arena (pictured)
Finally, candidates had to sign a new pledge this year vowing to support the eventual GOP nominee. Some candidates claim this panders to Trump, who is highly likely to clinch the nomination.
Fox News released the stage configuration on Tuesday with DeSantis and Ramaswamy front and center, Hutchinson and Burgum on the flanks and the other four candidates filling in between.
DailyMail.com breaks down the who's who of the candidates who made the debate stage – and those who didn't.
FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTISThe 44-year-old father of three expects to be the main target of the other on-stage candidates on Wednesday evening as he is the top-polling candidate showing up for the debate.
Currently in the middle of his second term as Florida's Governor, DeSantis has taken his former television reporter wife Casey DeSantis and their three children Madison, six, Mason, five, and Mamie, three, on the road to campaign.
He quickly reached the polling and donor threshold needed to participate in the first Republican National Committee (RNC) debate at 9:00 PM Wednesday evening.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the highest-polling candidate on the stage Wednesday and he is preparing to be the target of all seven other candidates on stage
With an undergraduate from Yale and law degree from Harvard, DeSantis was a lawyer for the U.S. Navy where he worked directly with detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp as well as for Seal Team One.
While in the reserves, DeSantis was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida's 6th congressional district, where he served from 2013-2018 before running for governor.
DeSantis was a staunch Trump supporter and ally when he was president. Trump endorsed Desantis in his 2018 gubernatorial bid, helping him with an underdog primary victory over Adam Putnam and went on for a slim victory in the general election to replace term-limited Republican Rick Scott.
In his 2022 reelection, DeSantis won with a landslide 59.4 percent to Democrat Charlie Crist's 40 percent – the largest Republican margin of victory in Florida's history.
During COVID-19, DeSantis rose to national prominence for his policies that allowed his state to reopen much quicker than most of the country.He has also come under fire for his conservative policies in the Sunshine State – including the Parental Bill of Rights dubbed by critics as the 'Don't Say Gay' law, his war with Disney's 'corporate kingdom' and his six-week abortion ban.
DeSantis quickly became the favorite to take on Trump in 2024 ahead of his May announcement, but since then has struggled to gain momentum and catch up to the former-President in the polls.
The governor's team is preparing for DeSantis to be the target of the seven other candidates on stage with debate prep sessions at least once every week, a person familiar with the strategy told DailyMail.com.
A memo from pro-DeSantis Political Action Committee (PAC) Never Back Down was leaked last week and reveals advice the governor is receiving on strategy for the debate, which include 'taking a sledgehammer' to millionaire and political newcomer Ramaswamy and 'defending Donald Trump' when Christie attacks him.
DeSantis often brings his family on the road with him. Pictured from left: Mamie, 3, Ron, Madison, 6, Casey, and Mason, 5
The memo notes that DeSantis should focus on attacking Democratic President Joe Biden and the media. But the candidate has dismissed the validity of the memo – or at least said they had not seen it until it was reported by The New York Times on Thursday.
'When you're over the target, that's when you're taking the most flak,' DeSantis said. 'If you look, really in the last 6-9 months, I've been more attacked than anybody else. People know that I'm the biggest threat.'
DeSantis Campaign Manager James Uthmeier sent a message to supporters over the weekend saying the debate will be a chance for other candidates to 'grab headlines by attacking the governor.'
But the governor won't focus on tussles with candidates polling beneath him – and his campaign says he will opt to emphasize his 'vision to beat Joe Biden' and 'reverse American decline' rather than attacking Trump.
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCEAs the former No. 2 to Trump, Pence says he is most qualified to take the debate stage because he has already debated the ex-President many times – but he won't get the pleasure on Wednesday.
Pence, 64, announced his candidacy on June 7 to become commander-in-chief after service as Trump's vice president for four years.
The father of three adult children and grandfather to three more maintains that he did the right thing on January 6, 2021 by certifying the 2020 election results for President Joe Biden, claiming that his loyalty to the Constitution superseded his loyalty to former President Trump.
Trump says Pence is a traitor and says he had the authority to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College results that handed Biden the win.
Along with his wife Karen, the Pence's hit the Iowa State Fair last weekend after the former VP became one of the last candidates on August 7 to qualify for the debate before the deadline on Monday.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has the name recognition, but just was able to qualify for the debate stage by meeting the polling threshold earlier this month
Pence brought his wife Karen to the Iowa State Fair earlier in August. The two are seen walking with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst on August 11, 2023
While his name recognition did get him far enough to qualify in polls, Pence had trouble reaching the RNC's 40,000 donor threshold needed to reach the debate stage.
Pence has welcomed Trump to join the debate lineup, but also said he isn't bothered because he's had the most experience 'debating' with the ex-President over their four years serving in the White House together.
Receiving his Juris Doctorate from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis in 1986 and went on to serve at a private practice.
After a few failed runs for Congress, Pence won in 2000 and became a Representative for Indiana's 2nd district in 2001 until that switched to district 6 in 2003. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives until 2013.
He then became governor of the state that year, only serving one term until he was tapped by Trump as his running mate in the 2016 presidential election.
Pence became a frequent target of the MAGA crowd after the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, where rioters were heard calling for the then-vice president to be hanged.
Pence jokes that he is uniquely qualified to debate Trump because he did that for four years when they served in the White House together – but he won't get a chance to go head-to-head with his former boss at this debate
The debate stage is set, with DeSantis and Ramaswamy center stage, Burgum and Hutchinson and the flanks and Christie, Pence, Haley and Scott filling in either side
The only black Republican in the U.S. Senate Tim Scott, 57, made recent advances in polling that show him coming in this place to Trump and DeSantis.
Scott is a bachelor, but he has taken his mother Frances Scott on the campaign trail.
The senator and 2024 hopeful attended Presbyterian College for one year on a partial football scholarship where he was introduced to Christianity. He is now a devout Christian. He transferred schools to finish off his college career at Charleston Southern University, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in political science.
Scott worked as an insurance agent and financial adviser after graduating college. He later started his own insurance agency, Tim Scott Allstate.
Working in almost every facet and level of government since 1995, Scott has made strides in his latest bid to become President with a 'positive' and 'optimistic' platform for the future.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is the only black Republican in the U.S. Senate. He trades off for third place in the primary polls and is dubbing himself the candidate of 'optimism and positivity'
Never Back Down founder and former Trump aide Ken Cuccinelli told DailyMail.com that Scott is sometimes 'too nice' and doesn't attack opponents enough, including Democrats like President Biden.
Scott served as a member of the Charleston County Council for the third district from 1995 to 2009 until he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives for the 117th district.
In 2011, Scott was elected to the U.S. House for the Palmetto State's 1st congressional district and then rose to the Senate in 2012 when then-South Carolina Sen. Nikki Haley announced his appointment to replace retiring Sen. Jim Demint.
Now, both South Carolinians Scott and Haley are duking it out for the GOP nomination and often trade-off for third place in national and regional polls.
South Carolina is one of the four early primary contest states, and is the only southern state in that bunch. With a black population of 26.16 percent, the results of the primary every presidential election cycle helps signal how a candidate will do among minority voters.
With two candidates from the GOP's third primary contest state running, it's hard to say whether either will gain enough momentum to overcome Trump.
FORMER UN AMBASSADOR NIKKI HALEYOnce in Trump's administration, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, 51, is now running to take her former boss' job.
Haley, whose first name is Nimarata, has made a lot of firsts in her political career.
As UN Ambassador, Haley was the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet and was the first female governor of South Carolina and the second U.S. governor of Indian descent.
While serving as governor she was the youngest in the country.
Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina. She earned an accounting degree from Clemson University in 1994. At a conference in Atlanta on Friday, Haley earned big cheers when she said she should be elected to the White House because she is an 'accountant, not a lawyer.'
Trump-era UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is also in the running. She consistently polls among the top five candidates in the race
Haley's husband Michael is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. They have two children, Rena, 25, and Nalin, 21
Haley joined her family's clothing business and then went on to serve as treasurer and later president of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
In September 1996, Nikki Randhawa married Michael Haley. They share two children, their daughter Rena, 25, and their son Nalin, 21.
Michael Haley is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. He served a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, during Haley's gubernatorial term.
Haley began her political career when she was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004 and served three terms. She was elected governor of the Palmetto State in the midst of her third term in
