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The third Republican primary debate took place on Wednesday, and featured a series of explosive moments, including Vivek Ramaswamy going after the daughter of former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Former Vice President Mike Pence recently announced he was dropping out of the GOP race, saying, "This is not my time.... So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today."
Other candidates, such as North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, have not qualified for the third GOP debate, which will have five participants, compared with seven in the second one.
Following are the details about the event.
When and Where Was the Debate?
The debate began at 8 p.m. EST. It was held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.
How to Replay the Republican Debate
The debate aired on NBC as well as the network's streaming platform, Peacock. Viewers could also watch the debate on Rumble. After the debate ended, NBC made a link available for viewers to rewatch the debate on YouTube. The moderators were Lester Holt, host of NBC's Nightly News; Kristen Welker, host of NBC's Meet the Press; and radio host Hugh Hewitt of the Salem Radio Network.
Trump Skips Debate Again
After not attending the first two primary debates, some wondered if the former president would show up for the third. Trump previously cited his lead in polls as a reason to not attend the debates and even had an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson during one of them.
Trump's campaign said last month that he will hold an event in Hialeah, Florida, an hour before the third debate starts.
Trump is dealing with several legal battles, including his civil fraud case in New York City, where he took the stand to testify this week. He has denied any wrongdoing in that case and the others against him.
Who Will Attend the GOP Debate?
The five candidates in the third debate will be former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
The candidates that qualified for the debate were announced by the Republican National Committee (RNC) this week.
"We are looking forward to our third debate in Miami, a welcome opportunity for our candidates to showcase our winning conservative agenda to the American people," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in the announcement.
She went on: "We are especially honored to be the first political party to partner with a Jewish organization for a debate in our partnership with the Republican Jewish Coalition, and our candidates will reaffirm the Republican Party's unwavering support of Israel and the Jewish community on the stage Wednesday night."
What Do the Polls Show?
A GOP primary tracking poll from Morning Consult showed on October 31 that Trump still holds a wide lead over the other candidates, with 61 percent.
Following behind him is DeSantis, with 13 percent, while both Haley and Ramaswamy stand at 7 percent. Christie and Scott have 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the candidates attending the event via email and through their websites.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more