Ramaswamy's campaign asks Republican committee to allow only top 4 candidates to 3rd primary debate

Ramaswamy's campaign seeks RNC to limit 3rd debate to top 4 candidates, incl. Trump, DeSantis, Haley. Letter to RNC requests greater time for candidates, single debate moderator, and 100,000-donor threshold. Dig at summit of GOP mega-donors, campaign reps of DeSantis and Haley. Ramaswamy: Voters, not donors, should vet presidential candidates and determine nominee.

Indian-American presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign has asked the Republican National Committee to allow only the top four candidates in national polling to the third Republican primary debate next month, saying another "unhelpful debate" is not an option.

The second Republican debate of the 2024 election cycle, which was held at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, last week, saw Ramaswamy sharing the stage with six other candidates, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador and Indian-American Nikki Haley.

The Ramaswamy campaign sought the change in rules for the third primary debate scheduled to be held in Miami on November 8, CBS News reported on Monday.

Ramaswamy asked the Republican party to allow only the top four candidates in national polling to be allowed onto the debate stage, aside from former president Donald Trump, according to a letter sent to the Republican National Committee (RNC) by Ben Yoho, the CEO of the 38-year-old multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur's campaign.

"Another unhelpful debate in November is not an option," Yoho wrote. "Voters are not well-served when a cacophony of candidates with minimal chance of success talk over each other from the edge of the stage, while the overwhelming frontrunner is absent from the centre of that same stage," the letter said, according to the report.

Ramaswamy, Trump, DeSantis, and Haley appear to have met the qualifications for the third debate stage, according to Politico newspaper.

Trump, who did not attend the second Republican debate last month, will also not attend the third debate in Miami, a Trump campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, told CBS News. The former president is currently the frontrunner.