(NewsNation) — The Republican National Committee announced seven presidential candidates have qualified for the party’s second primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Former Vice President Mike Pence will attend Wednesday’s debate.
“I’m the most consistent conservative in this race. I’m the most qualified conservative in this race,” Pence said on “NewsNation Live” Tuesday. “But I think I have a reputation for optimism and civility, that if I’m president, we’ll create the conditions where we can solve some of these intractable problems that are literally exhausting the American people.”
Pence explained that he became a Republican because of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan’s conservative vision for the country and commitment to civility allowed him to lead an administration reviving the nation, Pence argued.
“That’s what we need. We don’t need the man, we need to return to that combination,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump, the early Republican presidential front-runner who skipped the first debate, will also be missing from the stage and will hold events in the battleground state of Michigan instead.
Pence said it’s a “missed opportunity” for Republican voters because Trump’s current vision for the country and the Republican party is different from his first campaign.
“In 2016, when he asked me to join the ticket, he essentially promised Republican voters that he would govern as a conservative and we did,” Pence said. “Now, he’s embracing some of the language of the populist right, talk about appeasement on the world stage, drawing back from our commitments to our allies as war rages in Europe.”
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, Sen. Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie and Gov. Doug Burgum will also attend Wednesday’s debate.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson didn’t make the cut for the upcoming debate.
To qualify for the second debate, candidates needed at least 3% support in two national polls or 3% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
The White House hopefuls also needed at least 50,000 unique donors, with at least 200 coming from 20 states or territories. They also had to sign an RNC pledge to support the party’s eventual nominee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.