2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: Live Updates As Eight Republicans Face Off In Milwaukee

The first 2024 Republican presidential debate is here. Eight candidates, including a cadre of governors and former governors, will face off for the first time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at a debate hosted by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Candidates participating in the debate include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Former President Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, will not participate, opting to take part in a sit-down interview with former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson. Follow The Daily Wire’s Republican presidential debate live blog here: Refresh for updates.

Haley and Pence went after each other over congressional abortion legislation. Haley said there was not enough support in Senate to pass more narrow abortion legislation. Pence says that Republicans should push for abortion bans when the unborn child can feel pain.

Scott goes after rivals for arguing. 

Senator Scott went after Christie and Ramaswamy, saying that going back and forth “like children” won’t help the country.

Haley cites her gender as a reason to vote for her

Haley said that fighting from other male candidates was a reason to vote for her. She said that you need to rely on a woman to get something done.

Ramaswamy booed after accusing all of the candidates of being bought and paid for

Ramaswamy was booed by the audience after saying all the other candidates on the stage were bought and paid for. Christie responded by saying that Ramaswamy sounded like ChatGPT and was amateur. He compared Ramaswamy to Barack Obama

Rich Men North of Richmond gets shout out at beginning of debate.

The viral song sung by a Oliver Anthony that topped charts got a shout out at the beginning of the GOP debate, and Governor Ron DeSantis was asked why the song spoke so clearly to many Americans.”Our country is in decline,” DeSanits said. “This decline is not inevitable. It’s a choice. We need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline.”  DeSantis then spoke of restoring American dominance in energy by increasing domestic production, which has declined significantly under President Joe Biden.

Haley Says She Doesn’t Care About Polls, Goes After Trump On National Debt

Former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said she’s not concerned about her position in recent polls and called out her former boss for allowing the national debt to increase.“I don’t care about polls. What I care about is telling the American people the truth. The truth is that Biden didn’t do this to us. Our Republicans did this to us too when they passed that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill …”

Pence and Ramaswamy Spar Over Experience

Former Vice President Mike Pence hit Vivek Ramaswamy over his lack of experience, saying, “Now is not the time for on-the-job training. We don’t need to bring in a rookie. We don’t need to bring in people without experience.”“You have a bunch of people, professional politicians, super PAC puppets following slogans handed over to them,” Ramaswamy responded. “The real choice we face in this primary is this: do you want a super PAC puppet or do you want a patriot who speaks the truth?”

DeSantis: We’re in this mess because we locked down.

DeSantis discusses COVID lockdowns and says the way to deal with bureaucrats like Anthony Fauci is to fire them.

Burgum makes joke about accident earlier in the day. 

Burgum tore his ACL earlier on Wednesday at a pickup basketball game before showing up to Wednesday’s debate. Says he took advice to “break a leg” a little to seriously.”

Haley Says She Doesn’t Care About Polls, Goes After Trump On National Debt

Former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said she’s not concerned about her position in recent polls and called out her former boss for allowing the national debt to increase.“I don’t care about polls. What I care about is telling the American people the truth. The truth is that Biden didn’t do this to us. Our Republicans did this to us too when they passed that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill …”