The handful of remaining candidates — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, US Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — will attend the debate in Miami, Florida.
Thresholds required to make the debate stage increased from the previous debates, cutting out candidates with poor fundraising and poll performances.
However, Trump declined to attend the debate despite leading in primary polls. Trump maintains 55.8% support, DeSantis 13.8%, Haley 8.8%, Ramaswamy 4.9%, Christie 3% and Scott 2%, according to FiveThirtyEight primary poll averages released Tuesday.
Trump leads incumbent US President Joe Biden in five out of six so-called "battleground" states, a Siena College Research Institute poll released earlier this week said.
Trump has dismissed the previous debates as wastes of time due to purportedly poor viewership.
Trump faces lawsuits in the states of Colorado and Minnesota that seek to prevent him from appearing on election ballots due to his alleged role in the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot. Trump is also involved in several other criminal and civil court cases.