NBC News’ Lester Holt and Kristen Welker moderate the next GOP debate with Salem Radio’s Hugh Hewitt

NBC Nightly News Anchor Lester Holt and Meet the press Moderator Kristen Welker will co-host the next Republican debate with Salem Radio Network host Hugh Hewitt.

The lineup for the November 8 event was announced on Evening news Tonight.

The debate will air from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET at the Adrianne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami-Dade County. This is the third Republican debate this cycle, but front-runner Donald Trump is not expected to attend.

Holt co-hosted the first Democratic presidential debate of the last presidential cycle, held in Miami in June 2019. He also co-hosted a Las Vegas presidential debate in February 2020 from Las Vegas. Holt also moderated the first general election debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Welker moderated the final presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden in October 2020 and co-hosted a Democratic primary debate in November 2019 in Atlanta.

Hewitt, the host of The Hugh Hewitt Showserved on the moderation panel for four GOP primary debates on CNN in 2015 and 2016.

NBC News is the first non-Fox network to host a GOP debate this cycle, and other networks are also hoping to enlist the support of the Republican National Committee for future events. The network’s partners include Salem Media Group, the conservative radio station, and Rumble, which will broadcast the event live.

Following the announcement of the debate’s media partners, CNN’s Oliver Darcy criticized NBC for agreeing to the deal, arguing that Salem named figures such as Charlie Kirk, Dinesh D’Souza, Sebastian Gorka and Jenna Ellis “who hold inflammatory positions and that created a dangerous situation.” A conspiracy hatched. Theories and outright lies about the 2020 election.” He also warned CNN that it would be a “terrible sight” for them to also work with Salem and Rumble, who worked with CNN in the 2016 cycle.

Fox News hosted the first Republican debate from Milwaukee and Fox Business aired the second, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. According to Nielsen, the first debate attracted 12.8 million viewers, while the second dropped to 9.5 million. Those are still robust numbers for cable news.