The Family Forum will put candidates at one table to give Iowans “a chance to see what’s in the candidates’ hearts, not just in their plans,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the influential Family Leader, in a statement.
DeSantis and the other GOP candidates face growing urgency, with the leadoff Iowa caucuses just a little more than two months away, to cut into former president Donald Trump’s huge margins in the 2024 primary and establish themselves as a clear alternative.
The two-hour debate will start at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign shared an attack ad against his GOP primary opponent Donald Trump that used AI-generated images of the former president hugging infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Former president Donald Trump will not participate in the debate. His campaign has worked to overpower Gov. Ron DeSantis in their shared home state of Florida and publicly said it wants to score blowout wins in early primary states to seal the nomination.
Residents in six north-central Florida communities cast votes for council members and ballot questions.
Florida has long been influential in national politics — never more so than in 2000 when there were five weeks of recounts and court challenges before George W. Bush carried the state and won the presidency, by 537 votes.
Gov. Reynolds will break with long-standing Iowa tradition to endorse DeSantis. Iowa’s governor typically stays neutral before the caucuses that kick off the Republicans’ nomination calendar in January.
The RNC has scheduled a fourth debate for Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The third takes place this Wednesday in Miami.
The military aid comes as DeSantis and other GOP presidential contenders are expected to attend the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual gathering of donors in Las Vegas.