Two presidential primary debates canceled in advance of New Hampshire primaries

Two Republican primary debates scheduled before next week’s New Hampshire primaries have been canceled.

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CNN announced Wednesday that a Republican debate scheduled for Sunday would be canceled. The network cited a lack of participation as the reason for the cancellation.

Among the three Republican top contenders — former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — only DeSantis accepted the invitation to debate.

On Tuesday, WMUR and ABC announced they were canceling their planned GOP debate because neither Haley nor Trump would take part. DeSantis agreed to debate, the candidate’s campaign said.

“Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race,” ABC News reported Tuesday.

“As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire.”

While both Haley and DeSantis have participated in the five Republican presidential primary debates, Trump has not.

On Monday, Trump came in first place in the Iowa caucuses.

According to a tweet posted by Haley on X, formerly Twitter, she will not participate in a debate unless it is with Trump or President Joe Biden.

“I look forward to it,” she wrote.

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