Republican Presidential Debate: Nine Confirmed for May 3rd Showdown

The GOP will kick off round one of what may seem like an endless array of debates at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on May 3.  The Republican debate, the first of the cycle for Republican presidential candidates, will air exclusively on cable's MSNBC, with full coverage on MSNBC.com.  So far no GOP candidates have pulled a John Edwards hissy fit and decided to pull out because the debate will be broadcast on the left-leaning network that has liberal hosts Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann spewing liberal talking points.

A press release notes that the Politico will stream the debate live on Politico.com, providing an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity for viewers to ask and vote on questions via the Internet.

Accepting former first lady Nancy Reagan's invitation are Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.), former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Wisconsin governor Tommy G. Thompson.

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This debate will be the first of two GOP Presidential Candidate Debates that will take place at the Reagan Presidential Library during this campaign cycle. The second debate will be held on January 30, 2008, the final GOP Presidential debate before the 2008 "Super-Tuesday" primary in California and several other key states.

Located in Simi Valley, California, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library houses over 55 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers, an extraordinary collection of photographs and film, and over 100,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Home to Air Force One 27000, it now also serves as the final resting place of America's 40th President.