At the first Republican primary debate, eight presidential candidates sparred over climate change, abortion, education and aid to foreign countries.
Now seven contenders will meet again Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, to duke it out on the debate stage.
The leading candidate, former President Donald Trump, plans to skip the second debate and instead deliver a speech to current and former autoworkers union members in Detroit, according to The New York Times. Trump also did not participate in the first debate.
PolitiFact will be live fact-checking the debate here and across social media. Here’s what to know before watching it.
Where can I watch the debate?
The debate will air at 9 p.m. ET on the Fox Business Network and other Fox channels. A Spanish-language version of the debate will air on Univision and stream on ViX. Fox’s Stuart Varney and Dana Perino and Univision’s Ilia Calderón will moderate the debate.
​​The Republican National Committee has also partnered with Rumble to livestream the second debate.
Which candidates will be at the debate?
Seven candidates have qualified for the second debate: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
How can I follow PolitiFact’s fact-checking of the debate?
PolitiFact will fact-check the debate live on our website and across our social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter). We will work with our partner ABC News to provide fact-checking of candidates on the ABC debate live blog.
If you prefer a roundup of the most notable claims from the debate, subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get our fact-checking straight to your inbox.
Hear something that sounds off? Suggest a fact-check of a candidates’ claim by emailing truthometer@politifact.com.
How has PolitiFact rated the current GOP presidential field on our Truth-O-Meter?
Here’s how PolitiFact has rated statements made by the Republican presidential candidates using our Truth-O-Meter, which helps us rate claims based on their relative accuracy.
Ron DeSantis has been rated 52 times since 2013.
Mike Pence has been rated 75 times since 2009.
Chris Christie has been rated 105 times since 2011.
Nikki Haley has been rated 17 times since 2012.
Tim Scott has been rated nine times since 2012.
Vivek Ramaswamy has been rated 4 times since 2023.
Doug Burgum has never had a claim rated on PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter.
This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. See the sources for this fact check here.
