POLITICS

In coordination with the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, the next Republican presidential primary debate is set to take place on Thursday, January 18.

ABC, through its ABC News division, and in conjunction with Hearst Television affiliate WMUR-TV, will air the primary debate from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, just days after the Iowa caucuses, as attention turns to the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary the following week.

“ABC News is excited to host this Republican debate with our partners in the nation’s first primary state of New Hampshire,” said ABC News President Kim Godwin. “Our powerhouse political team has been working hard on this debate to provide our audience with the opportunity to hear from the candidates at this decisive moment in the primary race.”

“WMUR-TV has a long history of producing debates in New Hampshire and doing them right. ABC News has been our strongest partner, and we look forward to a successful New Hampshire Primary Debate with them and our other 2024 debate partners,” said Andrew Vrees, president and general manager of WMUR-TV.

“The New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Saint Anselm College are delighted to continue the long-standing tradition of partnering with ABC News and WMUR-TV in hosting the New Hampshire primary debate,” said Neil Levesque, executive director of New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. “On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, presidential candidates of both parties have graced our campus and made their case ever since 2008 and in every presidential cycle since then as voters here are about to cast their votes.”

“The New Hampshire Republican State Committee is looking forward to working with our partners at ABC News, WMUR-TV and St. Anselm’s College for a New Hampshire Republican presidential primary debate subject to RNC guidelines,” said Chris Ager, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee.

More details about the debate, format, qualifications, moderators, as well as ABC News’ coverage will be announced at a later time, the network noted.

The fourth Republican debate was held on Wednesday from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and aired on Nextstar’s NewsNation. The telecast drew 1.6 million viewers on the news network, the largest in its history, with another 2.5 million tuning in through a simulcast on The CW. The debate was the most-watched program aired on The CW since 2018. The debate was moderated by Elizabeth Vargas, Megyn Kelly and Eliana Johnson. Among Adults 18-49, NewsNation attracted 350,000 viewers in the demo while The CW had nearly 500,000 viewers in the key news demographic.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appeared in person at the University of Alabama, looking to position themselves as a viable alternative to former President Donald Trump — the dominant GOP front-runner.

Overall, just over four million viewers tuned into the debate between NewsNation and The CW, a drop from the 7.51 million viewers who watched the November 8 debate that aired across NBC, its news networks and digital and streaming platforms. On NBC alone, the debate was seen by 6.86 million viewers.

“NewsNation was incredibly honored to host last night’s debate, and we are very pleased that so many viewers tuned-in and watched,” said Sean Compton, President of Networks for Nexstar Media. “This debate represents a remarkable achievement for a cable news network that is just barely three years old. We’re very proud of the NewsNation team, the great job done by the moderators, and the overall production. In the end, the real winners last night were the nation’s voters.”