Presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to Alabama Republicans on Tuesday night at the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge hotel, a day ahead of a debate set for Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa.

“What does it mean to be an American?” Ramaswamy said. “To me it means we believe in the ideals of the American revolution, the ideals that set this country into motion 250 years ago, ideals like meritocracy, and pursuit of excellence, that we get ahead in this country not by the color of our skin but on the content of our character. That’s why I said we’ll end affirmative action and race-based quotas in every area of American life.”

Ramaswamy will be one of four Republican presidential candidates on stage Wednesday night for the fourth Republican debate, to be held at Moody Music Hall on the University of Alabama campus. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Former President Donald Trump, with a wide lead in the polls, has opted to skip the debates so far.

The two-hour debate will start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, moderated by NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas, SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly, and Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. It will air on The CW Network, which is WTTO Channel 21 in Birmingham, and on The NewsNation web site.