Ramaswamy campaign asks RNC to slash the number of GOP presidential candidates on the next debate stage

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Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign reportedly asked the Republican National Committee to significantly limit the number of GOP presidential candidates on stage for the party's next presidential primary debate. 

In a letter to RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Committee on Arrangements co-Chairs David Bossie and Anne Hathaway, Vivek 2024 CEO Ben Yoho requested that the RNC restrict the next debate stage to the four Republican candidates polling the highest nationally, after former President Donald Trump, according to The Hill. 

The campaign also asked the RNC to increase the donor threshold to 100,000. 

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Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the second Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 27, 2023. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

"[A]gainst the backdrop of a chaotic second debate and the reality of a frontrunner who has declined to participate, we respectfully call on the RNC to revise its approach so that Republican voters can focus on serious candidates who have a viable path to beating Joe Biden – or whomever the Democrats put up to replace him," Yoho wrote. 

Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott participate in the FOX Business debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Sept. 27, 2023, in Simi Valley, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"Time is running out. Early-state voting is rapidly approaching in January," he continued, according to the letter obtained by The Hill. "Another unhelpful debate in November is not an option: voters deserve a real choice for who will best serve as our party’s nominee. Voters are not well-served when a cacophony of candidates with minimal chance of success talk over each other from the edge of the stage, while the overwhelming frontrunner is absent from the center of that same stage." 

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The RNC has already raised the threshold to qualify for the third presidential debate of the 2024 cycle. 

Former President Donald Trump again opted out of the GOP debate and instead spoke at a campaign event at Drake Enterprises in Clinton Township, Michigan, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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To participate in the Nov. 6 event, GOP candidates are required to have two national polls that show them at 4% or higher, or they must receive 4% support in one national poll and two different early state polls. White House hopefuls are also required to meet a donor threshold of at least 70,000 unique donors, including at least 200 from 20 or more states each. That compares to the 3% polling threshold with a minimum of 50,000 unique donors required to participate in the Sept. 27 debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.