Alabama’s rising national political capital is expected to possibly grow even more this fall.
According to Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, the third Republican presidential primary debate for the 2024 election is set to take place in the Yellowhammer State this October.
Haley’s comments caused a stir because the Republican National Committee has only announced one Republican primary debate so far and that is Aug. 23 in Wisconsin.
At a campaign stop in NH, Nikki Haley appeared to reveal the third GOP debate location: “First debate’s August in Wisconsin. Second debate’s September at the Reagan Library. Third debate’s October in Alabama – by October, you’re going to see a totally different ball game.”
— Kit Maher (@KitMaherCNN) July 7, 2023
Haley, in several polls conducted so far, ranks fifth in the field of Republican candidates seeking the presidency. The two front runners of the group are former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who have both made trips to Alabama courting the state’s large GOP base.
The push to have a GOP primary debate in Alabama is not new. In August 2020, Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, and Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates requesting a debate in the Yellowhammer State.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
