According to the new qualification standards announced on Friday, the Republican National Committee will consider adding an additional night to this year’s first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee.

The first debate on Fox News Channel will take place on August 23. A second debate could be held as early as August 24 if sufficient candidates meet the polling and funding criteria. They must also pledge to support the Republican nominee, and not participate in outside debates.

According to an announcement by the RNC, candidates will need to secure donations from 40,000 or more national contributors. They must also consistently poll above 1 percent on three national polls. Candidates must receive donations from “at least 200 unique donors in each state or territory, across 20+ states or territories.”

Candidates will have 48 hours to meet the requirements before the debate, or until August 21. Prior to July 1, polls will not be considered.

The new standards are designed to avoid the circus-like, free-for all debates that took place in the 2016 Republican primary. It’s still too early to tell which candidates will pass the thresholds but the criteria may be hard for some candidates to meet.

Ron DeSantis could benefit from a smaller stage, as he wants to face former President Donald Trump one-on-one. Former President Donald Trump is looking forward to a large field of candidates to split the opposition against him.

In 2016, the GOP only allowed the top 10 candidates to appear on stage, based on polls conducted by national organizations. The party offered a second debate to candidates who weren’t in the top 10, but were “consistently” included as options in national polls.

Candidates who scored 2 percent or more in the 2020 Democratic Primary were randomly assigned to one of two debates featuring 10 candidates. The debates were randomly assigned for candidates who polled below the 2 percent mark. Democrats can also meet the minimum of 65,000 donors to qualify for the discussion. This formula gave candidates with low name recognition the opportunity to debate with national recognized names.