The first GOP primary presidential debate will include eight candidates, the Republican National Committee announced late Monday.

Participating in Wednesday night’s debate in Milwaukee will be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

“The RNC is excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night,”  RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.

To qualify for the debate, which will be hosted by Fox News, candidates needed to reach 1% in three national polls or 1% in two national polls and two polls in early-voting states. They also needed to collect donations from 40,000 unique supporters, including least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states or territories.

Hopefuls also must sign a pledge that they would support the eventual nominee if they don’t win the nomination.

Former President Donald Trump, the early GOP front-runner, confirmed Sunday that he will be skipping the debate — and others as well.

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!”

Trump, who has also said that he would not sign the pledge, has taped an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has been hosting a show on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, according to one person who requested anonymity to discuss private planning. The interview is expected to air Wednesday.

Three candidates had claimed to have met the RNC’s criteria for the debate but ultimately did not make the cut: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, businessman Perry Johnson and conservative radio host Larry Elder.

Others who did not qualify are former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas and businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley. 

The two-hour debate, being held at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, begins at 9 p.m. Eastern. Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will be the moderators.

Editor's Note: This article was updated to say Larry Elder had also claimed to have qualified for the debate.