GOP debates have 'demeaned every candidate who participated in them': Louisiana Republican Party chair

The Republican National Committee plans to continue holding presidential debates despite internal grumbling from some members and complaints from frontrunner Donald Trump.

The former president and current 2024 pace-setter has publicly pressured the RNC to call off its planned third debate after he skipped the first two, and some committee members agree the events don't seem to have much purpose with Trump's challengers polling far behind him, reported Politico.

“[The debates] have demeaned every candidate who participated in them,” said Louis Gurvich, chair of the Republican Party of Louisiana.

The RNC plans to hold the third debate as scheduled on Nov. 8 in Miami, but some members have said it's time to acknowledge Trump will likely win the nomination despite his four indictments on 91 criminal charges and recent court rulings finding him liable for fraud and sexual abuse.

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“After the failure of the first debate, there should have been some severe introspection into what’s going on here,” said Tyler Bowyer, a national committeeman from Arizona.

But many members say the debates must continue in accordance with RNC rules.

Jason Thompson, Georgia’s national committeeman, said he understands that Trump is “ahead and everything — and way ahead.”

“This is a process we have to go through regardless," said Jason Thompson, Georgia’s national committeeman. "We have primaries. We aren’t anointing people.”

Trump has called for future debates to be called off because he's polling so far ahead of his rivals, but a committee member from New Hampshire -- which holds the nation's first primary early next year -- pointed out that he's not an incumbent president.

“This, in my opinion, will not fly,” said Juliana Bergeron, a committee member from New Hampshire. “Nor should it.”