RNC Moves To Require Presidential Candidates To Skip Traditional Commission Debates

By The Hill
Posted on 01/13/22 | News Source: The Hill

The Republican National Committee (RNC) alerted the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) on Thursday that it plans to require GOP presidential nominees not to attend debates run by the commission going forward. 

"The RNC will initiate the process of amending the Rules of the Republican Party at our upcoming Winter Meeting to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in CPD-sponsored debates," wrote Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in the letter, which was obtained by The Hill. 

McDaniel said GOP voters "have lost trust" in the commission and noted that the RNC has proposed a number of reforms to the debate process.

"Unfortunately, neither the tone nor substance of your latest response inspires confidence that the CPD will meaningfully address the serious issues which the RNC has raised," she said. 

If the RNC moves to change its rules, the pullout would mark one of the greatest changes in the history of U.S. presidential debates, which the CPD has hosted for more than 30 years. 

McDaniel detailed the timeline of the RNC's communications with the commission, which included a letter from the committee in June and discussions between the commission's co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf and David Bossie, the chair of the RNC's temporary presidential debates committee. 

Fahrenkopf served as RNC chairman in the 1980s. 

McDaniel said the commission's response to the list of demands from the RNC "so far seem designed to delay any reform until it is too late to matter for the 2024 election."