The Republican Party will hold its second presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, according to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel.
“I firmly believe that our next president will be on that stage,” McDaniel said Thursday, after announcing the library would host the debate.
David Trulio, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, said the debate will be the fifth debate hosted at the Reagan Library across four election cycles.
“We at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute are grateful for Chairwoman McDaniel’s announcement,” Trulio told Fox News. “The debate will continue a proud tradition that lives up to President Reagan’s vision that the institution that bears his name be a ‘dynamic intellectual forum’ where leaders ‘debate the future.’”
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RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute’s ‘A Time for Choosing Speaker Series’ at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on April 20, 2023, in Simi Valley, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
McDaniel did not provide a date or say which outlet would air the debate.
The first GOP presidential primary debate will be held four months from now, in August, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fox News will air the first debate.
“The next election is so important,” McDaniel continued. “We’re not dealing with small, minor differences between two parties. These are not simple policy discussions that we’re discussing. We’re electing and determining the future of our country.”
She added: “There are two very different paths being laid out.”
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Her speech, which came amid the library’s “A Time For Choosing” speaker series, highlighted the Republican Party’s platform as supporting law and order, securing the nation’s southern border, protecting free speech and gun ownership rights. She also commended the views and policies of former President Ronald Reagan.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will host the second GOP presidential primary debate. (David McNew/Getty Images)
“Reagan famously said freedom is a fragile thing, and it’s never more than one generation from extinction,” McDaniel said. “Freedom is a fragile thing and no one is going to take that fight on for us. Our party is standing in the breach of determining America’s bright future. This is our mission, and we have to be united if we’re going to accomplish this. We have to work together.”
She continued: “If we do that, we will keep the house, we will keep the Senate, we will win back the White House, and we will keep America a shining city on a hill.”
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute’s ‘A Time for Choosing Speaker Series’ at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on April 20, 2023 in Simi Valley, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
The criteria for how candidates will qualify for the debate was not specified.
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The Reagan Library has hosted GOP primary debates in the past, including a debate in 2015, which featured eventual winner Donald Trump and 10 other candidates.