Survey: Republicans Say Candidates, Not RNC Leadership, Should Have Most Influence on Debate Details

Most Republicans believe the candidates should have more influence than Republican National Committee (RNC) leadership on the GOP presidential debate details, the latest Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey found.

The survey asked respondents:

On the issue of who should have the most influence in determining topics, times, locations, and moderators for Republican Presidential Primary Debates – Should it be the Republican National Committee Leadership or a mutual agreement among the candidates participating?

Most Republicans, 53.4 percent, said debate details should be determined by mutual agreement among participating candidates, compared to 32.8 percent who said RNC leadership. Another 13.8 percent remain unsure.

Most independents, 52.1 percent, believe details should be more influenced by mutual agreement among candidates, and a plurality of Democrats, 36.5 percent, agree.

Across the board, a plurality of respondents, 47.4 percent, believe the participating candidates should have more influence in deciding the details.

The survey was taken June 5-9, 2023, among 1,088 likely general election voters. It has a +/- 2.9 percent margin of error.

The survey comes days after Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace announced Fox News’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as the moderators for the first Republican debate, taking place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 23 at Fiserv Forum.

“We are extremely proud to have Bret and Martha moderating the first debate of the 2024 presidential election season as Americans learn more about the candidates ahead of exercising their constitutional right to vote,” Wallace said.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in April announced that Fox News would host the first debate, adding that the RNC would also “live stream on Rumble.”

She explained:

We’re getting away from Big Tech; YouTube’s owned by Google. We’re going to have an RNC channel on Rumble. And then the Young Americas Foundation, which is run by Scott Walker, to really reach out to young voters. They’re based in Wisconsin, so they’re going to be a partner as well.

Months later, the RNC announced the criteria for candidates to participate in the first debate, which include a handful of categories.

In addition to filing the proper paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), each participant must have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors to their presidential campaign committee, including “at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories,” per the RNC’s original press release.

Candidates must also meet polling requirements, reaching at least one percent in three national polls or garnering one percent support in two national polls in addition to one percent in a qualifying early state poll. The RNC also listed parameters for qualifying polls, as Breitbart News reported:

The RNC listed a few qualifications for polls which would qualify, explaining that the survey must examine at least 800 registered likely Republican voters through a variety of means — online panels to calls — and order the questions in a way that does not “allow potential bias.” Additionally, the survey cannot be affiliated with a campaign or the candidate’s committee and must be taken July 1 or later. Each candidate has up until the 48 hours preceding the debate to meet the polling requirements.

Further, every qualifying participating candidate must sign pledges, asserting that they will not participate in a non-sanctioned RNC debate. They also must promise to support the party’s ultimate nominee.

Former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner in the Republican primary field, criticized preliminary debate plans in April, writing on Truth Social, “I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them.”

“When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?” he asked.

“Also, the Second Debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the Chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, Publisher of The Washington Post. NO!” Trump added.

Several GOP candidates will be vying to participate in the debates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, radio host Larry Elder, anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and most recently, former Republican Rep. Will Hurd.