RNC votes to boycott 'biased' Commission on Presidential Debates

Republican presidential candidates will no longer participate in debates hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Republican National Committee announced on Wednesday.

The RNC voted unanimously Thursday to withdraw from the primary organizer of general-election presidential debates, calling the CPD “biased” and unwilling to “serve the interest of the American people.”

“Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates,” RNC Chair 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.”

McDaniel emphasized that the RNC would not be withdrawing from debates altogether, but only those hosted by the commission. It is unclear what alternative method will be pursued by the RNC, though the statement noted it will explore “other avenues for candidates to have a free and fair forum for all Americans.” The commission has hosted presidential debates for over three decades.

In January of this year, McDaniel sent a letter to the commission threatening a boycott.

The RNC’s discontent with presidential elections goes back several years, though it reached a boiling point in 2020 when the commission and then-President Donald Trump repeatedly clashed. Several of McDaniel’s stated reasons for abandoning the commission appear to stem from the 2020 election.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many states implemented widespread early voting and mail-in voting, which led to a significant portion of the electorate casting ballots prior to the first presidential debate. One of the debate moderators, then-C-SPAN host Steve Scully, was criticized as being biased by the Trump campaign, the RNC and right-wing media because he had interned for then-Sen Joe Biden while in college. The debate was never held after Trump tested positive for Covid-19 and refused a virtual debate format.