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RNC Wants to Ban All Republican Candidates From Presidential Debates

The proposal would require candidates seeking the Republican nomination to pledge to skip all debates facilitated by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

In a letter sent to the Commission on Presidential Debates on Thursday, and obtained by The New York Times, the Republican National Committee said that it’s considering banning Republican candidates from participating in future presidential debates. In the letter, the RNC outlined a proposal that would require all candidates seeking the Republican nomination to pledge to skip debates facilitated by the commission. The proposal will stand to a vote in February at the RNC winter meeting. The GOP has expressed a growing dissatisfaction with how past debates have been orchestrated, accusing the commission—which was established as a bipartisan initiative in 1987—of facilitating debates to advantage Democrats. The Times also reports that Republican Party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told the commission in June that it could no longer be trusted by her party. There does not yet seem to be a plan B in place for future debates.