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How To Watch Presidential Primary Debates 2023

Like it or not, the 2024 presidential election is right around the corner. Here’s how and where to watch the Republican TV debates leading up to it.

Republican Presidential Primary Debates Round 5: The fifth Republican Presidential Primary Debate of the 2024 election cycle will air live on Wednesday, January 10, at 9 p.m. ET, on CNN. The debate will be broadcast live from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Only former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be appearing at this debate; former President Donald Trump is, again, not expected to attend.

If you thought the last couple of election cycles were strange, just wait: 2024 is shaping up to be a “hold my beer” kind of year.

Leading up to the 2024 election, a wide field of Republican hopefuls line up for the job, led by former President/current defendant Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. It’s bound to be a wild debate season … if either decides to participate (more on that in a minute).

There are currently no Democratic debates scheduled for potential 2024 challengers to President Joe Biden; no incumbent U.S. president has participated in an election debate since the 1970s. But, given the current political landscape, there could be one in the books by the time you finish the next sentence.

Assuming debate season goes on as planned, here’s how to watch all the political fireworks on TV.

Get your Fox News

To watch the first Republican primary debate of 2023, you need access to Fox News. This isn’t difficult, since it’s one of the most widely available channels across cable, satellite, and live TV streaming services. Check out our Best TV Packages and Deals and Best Live TV Streaming Services guides.

2024 Republican presidential primary debates on Fox News, Fox Business, and NBC

According to Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, the first 2024 Republican presidential debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (host city for the 2024 Republican National Convention), on Wednesday, August 23.

The lengthily titled Fox News Republican Primary Debate with Partners Young America’s Foundation and Rumble, will be televised on Fox News and livestreamed on the social media platform Rumble. DeSantis is more likely to commit to this first debate than Trump, whose relationship with Fox News has soured in recent months (also, he may be busy in court).

If Trump is a no-show, DeSantis may still have debate opponents to spar with, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, current South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

The second Republican presidential primary debate took place in September 2023 on Fox Business and Fox News, followed by a third in November on NBC.

Next 2024 Republican presidential primary debates on CNN, ABC, or elsewhere

CNN has pitched the Republican National Committee on televising subsequent 2024 primary debates. ABC and PBS have also expressed interest. Here’s the problem: DeSantis only likes Fox News (no surprise there), and he may snub a debate hosted by any other network—almost certainly the one owned by Disney.

CBS has said it would be interested in carrying a Republican presidential debate, but not until 2024 when the candidate herd has been thinned (possibly due to house arrest, in certain cases).

CableTV.com will update this page as more presidential debates and candidates are confirmed.

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