Ed. The co-sponsors of the debate, including the Republican Party of Iowa, agreed on a set of criteria for a candidate’s participation in the debate. Candidates were informed of this criteria in early October.  The criteria took into consideration both national and local polling and is the same criteria that ABC News used during the 2008 election cycle.  See below:

o   In order to participate in this debate, a candidate must either:

1.       Achieve 5% or higher in a primary trial heat of registered Republican voters in one or more of the national polls set out in the list below conducted between October 1, 2011 and December 5, 2011. Or…

2.       Achieve 5% or higher in a poll of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers by the Des Moines Register or by any polling organizations in the list below conducted between October 1, 2011 and December 5, 2011.

Iowa Debate: The Des Moines Register Added as Co-Sponsor of Dec. 10 GOP Debate on ABC

Debate to Air Nationally on the ABC Television Network on December 10 from 9:00-11:00 PM/ET

Plus: Debate will be Live-Streamed on Yahoo! as well as ABCNews.com, MyABC5.com, and DesMoinesRegister.com

ABC News/Yahoo! is pleased to announce that The Des Moines Register will join ABC5/WOI-DT and the Republican Party of Iowa as a co-sponsor of the previously announced Republican presidential candidate debate in Iowa on Saturday, December 10. The debate, moderated by ABC News anchors Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, will air in primetime from 9:00-11:00pm/ET nationally on the ABC Television Network and locally on ABC5/WOI-DT.  In addition it will be live-streamed on ABCNews.com, Yahoo.com, MyABC5.com, and DesMoinesRegister.com. ABC News will re-air an excerpted version of the debate the following Sunday morning on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.”  The debate was initially announced on March 24.  

Statement from Laura L. Hollingsworth, president and publisher of the Des Moines Register: “The Des Moines Register has convened presidential candidates for debates since 1980.  This year, we’re pleased to partner on this event with ABC News, WOI-DT in Des Moines, Yahoo! and the Republican Party of Iowa so that we can continue our focus on the most meaningful issues that Iowans care about and share them with the entire nation. This debate is three short weeks before the Iowa Caucuses. It will be an important time for Iowans to be making important decisions, and we are pleased to help lead them.”

Statement from Matthew Strawn, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa: “This is a win-win agreement as it is in the best interest of our Republican presidential candidates and Iowa’s Republican caucus-goers. First, the remaining nationally-televised debates will assist our candidates in reaching as wide an audience as possible in the final weeks leading up to the January 3 Caucuses. Second, reducing the number of Iowa debates provides our candidates more time to engage in the personal, retail politicking with voters that is the hallmark of the Iowa Caucuses.”

About ABC5/WOI-DT
ABC5 News, serving Central Iowa from the state capitol city of Des Moines, has a long tradition of producing robust coverage of the Iowa caucuses and related events such as the Iowa Straw Poll.  Its partnership with ABC News in recent election cycles has provided viewers the most comprehensive and incisive political coverage available. Sponsoring, hosting, and/or broadcasting political debates along with exclusive one-on-one candidate interviews are an integral part of ABC5′s news and public service commitment. ABC5 News coverage is also available at www.myabc5.com, on mobile platforms at m.myabc5.com and as a free iPhone/iPad application.

About Des Moines Register Media
Des Moines Register Media is a multi-platform, news and information and advanced marketing services company. Des Moines Register Media, a Gannett Co., publishes The Des Moines Register, along with 10 community and weekly newspapers, Juice, five monthly lifestyles magazines, and a multitude of web and mobile sites including DesMoinesRegister.com, HawkCentral.com, DesMoines.Metromix.com and RAGBRAI.com. National alignments and partners include apartments.com, careerbuilder.com, cars.com, homefinder.com, Yahoo! and others. Des Moines Register Media owns and produces RAGBRAI, a trek across Iowa that’s the world’s oldest, largest and longest annual bicycle ride. Des Moines Register Media reaches more than 500,000 actively engaged consumers every week and excels at providing local businesses with solutions to reach their best customers.

About ABC News
ABC News is responsible for all of the ABC Television Network’s news programming on a variety of platforms: television, radio and the Internet.  Its flagship program is “World News with Diane Sawyer” with other programs including “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” “Primetime,” “20/20,” and the Sunday morning political affairs program “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.” With an average television and radio audience of 180 million people in a given month, ABC News surpasses the competition.  More than 2,400 affiliate stations broadcast ABC News Radio’s global news coverage.  In addition, ABC News NOW is a 24-hour news and information network currently available to 44 million users across cable, broadband, and mobile platforms. NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, provides live and packaged news, sports, and weather reports, as well as footage of news events, to 200 ABC affiliates and more than 30 domestic and international clients.

About Yahoo!
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is the premier digital media company, creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. And Yahoo!’s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com). Yahoo! is home to the No. 1 sites for finance, sports, news, entertainment news, and more. Yahoo! and Yahoo! News are the trademarks and/or registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owner.

ABC NEWS ANNOUNCES DATE FOR PRIMETIME IOWA REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE CO-SPONSORED BY ABC5/WOI-DT AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA

Debate to Air Saturday, December 10 in Primetime from 9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT Nationally on the ABC Television Network and Locally on ABC5/WOI-DT 

Excerpted Debate to Re-Air the Following Morning on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour”

Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos to Moderate from Des Moines, Iowa

ABC News’ Republican presidential candidate debate in Iowa with ABC5/WOI-DT and the Republican Party of Iowa will take place on Saturday, December 10. This debate, to be moderated by ABC News anchors Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, will be held at a critical moment in the Republican nomination process – less than a month before the state’s “first-in-the-nation” caucuses.

The debate will air in primetime from 9:00-11:00pm ET/PT nationally on the ABC Television Network, locally on ABC5/WOI-DT, and will air on ABCNews.com and Yahoo.com. It will be the only broadcast network debate in primetime before the caucuses. ABC News will re-air an excerpted version of the debate the following Sunday morning on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.”

The candidates will be asked about the critical issues the country faces in front of a live audience on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines. The debate was initially announced on March 24.

Iowa and New Hampshire have long been make-or-break contests for candidates, and ABC News will be putting the crucial questions of the day to the contenders in both key states during two primetime debates. ABC News previously announced it will host a primetime debate in New Hampshire the Saturday before the Granite State’s “first in the nation” primary.

About ABC5/WOI-DT
ABC5 News, serving Central Iowa from the state capitol city of Des Moines, has a long tradition of producing robust coverage of the Iowa caucuses and related events such as the Iowa Straw Poll.  Its partnership with ABC News in recent election cycles has provided viewers the most comprehensive and incisive political coverage available. Sponsoring, hosting, and/or broadcasting political debates along with exclusive one-on-one candidate interviews are an integral part of ABC5′s news and public service commitment. ABC5 News coverage is also available at www.myabc5.com, on mobile platforms at m.myabc5.com and as a free iPhone/iPad application.

About ABC News
ABC News is responsible for all of the ABC Television Network’s news programming on a variety of platforms: television, radio and the Internet.  Its flagship program is “World News with Diane Sawyer” with other programs including “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” “Primetime,” “20/20,” and the Sunday morning political affairs program “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.” With an average television and radio audience of 180 million people in a given month, ABC News surpasses the competition.  More than 2,400 affiliate stations broadcast ABC News Radio’s global news coverage.  In addition, ABC News NOW is a 24-hour news and information network currently available to 44 million users across cable, broadband, and mobile platforms. NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, provides live and packaged news, sports, and weather reports, as well as footage of news events, to 200 ABC affiliates and more than 30 domestic and international clients.