The Republican National Committee on Thursday announced it unanimously voted to require GOP presidential candidates to abstain from presidential debates sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen the process for decades.
"Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. "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."
She added that the RNC will "find newer, better debate platforms" for Republican candidates to make their case.
The RNC will require Republican presidential candidates to sign a pledge that they will only appear at party-sanctioned primary and general election debates, an RNC official confirmed. The requirement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal reported.
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