The leading Republican presidential candidates – most of them, at least – are on stage tonight in Milwaukee for their first debate ahead of the 2024 primary.
Follow along here with the USA TODAY Fact Check Team as we dig into candidates' claims and add context on expected campaign themes, including election fraud, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the war in Ukraine and more.
Former President Donald Trump's decision to skip the debate means eight candidates will participate, including Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely seen as Trump's most formidable challenger. The other candidates expected on the debate stage are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Republican debate live updates: GOP primary candidates take stage without Donald Trump
Here's some background from our archives on key topics we expect to see through the campaign and perhaps tonight:
Asa Hutchinson: “We had 14% fewer state...
As he said he would on Sunday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation case against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick this morning over a story that characterizes him as an inc...