The Republican National Committee unanimously voted Thursday to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates and vowed to find “newer, better debate platforms.”
GOP presidential candidates will have to sign a written pledge that they will only partake in debates sanctioned by the party, or else they will be banned from the party’s approved debates, according to the resolution that passed.
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE THREATENS TO OPT OUT OF CPD-SPONSORED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
“Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates. The Commission on Presidential Debates is biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage,” Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the RNC, said in a statement.
Republicans have had qualms with the commission for years, but tensions began to escalate after the 2020 presidential debates. Several months ago, the RNC sent a letter to the commission threatening to block its nominees from participating in debates sponsored by the commission. In Thursday’s vote, the party did exactly that.
“Any presidential primary candidate who does not agree in writing, or who participates in any debate that is not a sanctioned debate, shall not be eligible to participate in any further sanctioned debates,” the resolution said, per the Wall Street Journal.
The RNC said Thursday’s vote followed a “year-long process” and lambasted the commission for being “biased.” In its prior letter to the commission, the party issued a series of demands, such as a stronger code of conduct for moderating debates, increased transparency, and a commitment to hold at least one debate before early voting. The party alleged the commission was “unwilling” to make the changes the RNC requested.
“To be clear: we are not walking away from debates. We are walking away from the CPD,” the party emphasized. “The Republican Party deserves better. The American people deserve better.”
The RNC plans to create a working group to develop plans for party-sanctioned debates, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A spokesperson from the commission has not responded to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner. The commission was created in 1987 and has facilitated general election presidential debates ever since its formation.
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During the 2020 presidential election cycle, the commission selected journalist Steve Scully, who served as an intern to Joe Biden in college, to moderate a debate until he got into trouble for apparently lying about his Twitter account being hacked, and a majority of its board members made statements “publicly disparaging the Republican-nominee,” according to the party.
The party also ripped the commission for hosting the debates after 26 states had begun early voting and accused it of making “unilateral” changes to the debate formats. The commission made the second 2020 debate virtual after Donald Trump caught COVID-19. Trump ultimately withdrew, and the second debate fell through.
