(The Center Square) – The Republican candidates for president will be in Milwaukee next week, though no one is sure who is coming and no one is guessing what the candidates will say.
Former President Donald Trump will not appear at the debate scheduled for Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.
The New York Times reported Friday Trump will instead sit down for an interview with Tucker Carlson instead.
Without Trump, that leaves a group including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Niki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President MIke Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgam.
Megan Novak, state director for Americans for Prosperity in Wisconsin, said she’s looking for the eight candidates on the debate stage to speak directly to the voters of Wisconsin.
“The candidates should know that Wisconsinites want better choices in this election,” Novak told The Center Square. “Voters are looking for a strong leader who can turn the page from the current political environment and empower people to improve their lives.”
Wisconsin Republican Congressman Bryan Steil said he’s looking for the candidates to make the case to voters across the country that the Republican brand is about positives.
“We have a huge opportunity as Republicans on [Wednesday] in Milwaukee to actually talk about the future and contrast what Republicans would do to move us forward with the Biden Administration’s failed economic policies,” Steil said on The Jay Weber Show. “My hope is that we don’t get into a food-fight of personalities.”
Novak said voters in Wisconsin want the same thing.
“In the face-to-face conversations we have had with millions of Americans – not just in Wisconsin, but across the country – voters are ready to move on. They want new leadership and better policy solutions to the problems they currently face,” she added.
The Milwaukee debate comes months before voters will cast the first votes in the Republican Primary.
Iowa will hold its caucus in mid-January of next year, and the New Hampshire Primary has not yet been scheduled. Wisconsin’s Republican Primary election will be in April.
Wednesday’s debate in Milwaukee will be broadcast on Fox News exclusively.
