Eight presidential hopefuls are set to appear at the first Republican presidential primary debate tonight: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.
The candidates above each met a polling and fundraising threshold to qualify, and signed several Republican National Committee pledges, including one pledging to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee.
Former President Donald Trump met the polling and fundraising thresholds but said in an August 10 interview that he did not plan to sign the loyalty pledge. On August 20, Trump said he would not be attending the debate.