The Republican National Committee has added another GOP primary debate to its schedule that will take place on opening day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and CPAC organizers aren’t thrilled.
While hundreds of GOP donors and conservative activists gather at the March 3 CPAC meeting at the Gaylord Resort in National Harbor, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C., the remaining GOP presidential candidates will gather in Detroit, Mich., on the same day for what is likely to be a lively two-hour debate on Fox News Channel.
“We were disappointed to learn that the debate was on the same day as the Thursday of CPAC,” Matt Schlapp, chairman of the annual conference, told the Washington Examiner. “I actually think CPAC would have been the perfect place to have a debate because when you think about these primaries, this is where many conservatives who take voting seriously will be.”
Nevertheless, Schlapp praised the GOP’s jam-packed debate schedule, saying it’s been “a really good one for the party” and attracted “great numbers of viewers.” He also noted that the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC each year, will hold a watch party for CPAC attendees at 8 p.m ET the night of the debate.
The party will be sponsored by conservative website Townhall.com and Schlapp claims it will be “the watch party of all watch parties.”
The March 3 debate will take place five days before Michigan’s Republican primary and 48 hours after Super Tuesday on March 1. It is likely the GOP field will have narrowed down to even fewer candidates by then, depending on their performances in many of the Southern states and Nevada.
