Republicans to face-off at second presidential debate as Trump snubs event

Donald Trump's Republican rivals will face-off at their second presidential primary debate, with everyone on stage hoping for a breakout moment that could change the trajectory of the lopsided primary contest dominated by the former president.

Seven Republican candidates — but not front runner Trump — will be on stage for the debate that begins at 9 pm ET [0100 GMT on Thursday] at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute in Simi Valley, California.

Trump's chief rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, will face off against political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump's vice president Mike Pence, and pugnacious former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum round out the field for the clash, to be moderated by Fox Business and Univision.

The candidates are vying with Trump to become their party's nominee to face President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, in the November 2024 election.

Trump, who leads his nearest rival for the nomination by 37 percentage points, according to the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, is shunning the debate, as he did the first one in Wisconsin last month.

Instead, Trump plans to give a speech at 8 pm ET to workers in Detroit, inserting himself into a national dispute between striking workers and the country's leading automakers a day after Biden joined a union picket line.

A potential sideshow

Trump's Republican rivals need to change the trajectory with less than four months until voting begins in Iowa, which holds the first Republican nominating contest, strategists say.

"None of the polling looks good for anybody else and time is running out," said John Feehery, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with any of the candidates.

"The issue now is Trump's seeming inevitability ... One of these candidates has to make the case that they are best situated to upset Trump in one of the early states, including Iowa."

The Republican National Committee, which organises the debates, has picked the Fox Business Network to host the event, alongside Univision, the US-based Spanish-language TV channel, and Rumble, an online video platform popular with conservatives.

Stuart Varney, a Fox Business Network anchor and one of the debate moderators, told Reuters the candidates will be questioned on a range of issues, including immigration, inflation, crime and foreign policy.

Trump's decision to skip the debate makes it a potential sideshow, said Kyle Kondik, a non-partisan analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

"It's hard to present it as having great stakes for the race. The guy who has so much support isn't even there," Kondik said.