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SALT LAKE CITY — The Republican National Committee announced it will be holding a presidential debate in Salt Lake City in March.
The debate, which will be held on March 21 in Salt Lake City, was decided upon by the RNC's Debate Committee after the committee met on Saturday and decided another debate would be beneficial to the selection process. The March debate will be the first presidential debate the state of Utah has hosted.
"Look at the punch Utah has nationally in Republican circles. The Republican committee recognizes that," Utah GOP Chairman James Evans said. "Utah has become a must-visit state. This only formalizes that by having a debate here."
The committee also scheduled a final debate in April in New York City should a presidential candidate not have enough delegates ahead of the New York primary.
"The additional debate in Utah and the possibility of holding one in New York ensures that Republican voters and activists will continue to see our candidates in action," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a prepared statement.
"Debates have played a vital role in our nominating process this cycle. The RNC's goal, in short, has been to make sure debates serve to showcase candidates and give them a means to make their case to Republican voters," Priebus added. "We believe that the debates to date have done so. Moreover, our outstanding and diverse field has attracted more viewers than any cycle in history. And as this process continues into delegate rich March, that interest will undoubtedly become more focused and increase."
The Utah debate will be held one day before the Arizona primary, Utah caucus and convention for American Samoa. Three debates precede the Utah debate, namely Houston on Feb. 25, Detroit on March 3 and Miami on March 10.
The sponsor for the debate has not been decided at this time, nor has information about whether the general public will be allowed to attend the debate. However, Evans said the state party will announce soon how its allocation of tickets to the debate will be distributed.
More information will be posted when it's available.
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche
