With eight of the more than a dozen 2024 GOP primary candidates already confirmed to be on the first primary debate stage on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, the rest of the field has until 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday to submit to the Republican National Committee their polling and donor numbers in order to qualify.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are confirmed by the party to have cleared all of the polling, donor and pledging requirements.
A Republican Debate sign is up outside Fiserv Forum in preparation of the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, Aug. 21, 2023.Mike De Sisti /The Milwaukee Journal/USA Today
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Michigan businessman Perry Johnson appears to have met the requirements needed to make the stage, though he has not been confirmed by the RNC and has not yet signed the loyalty pledge. At least two candidates — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd — have claimed they have cleared the donor requirements. Suarez has claimed he has also met the polling benchmarks, which was refuted by the party, while Hurd’s campaign has also said they’re having the RNC review a number of their qualifying polls.
Pastor Ryan Binkley has said he’s hit a 45,000-donor mark, though he’d still need to qualify for at least three polls in order to receive the loyalty pledge and get on stage.
Conservative talk radio host and a former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder said on Monday morning he needed “just a few hundred more contributors to meet the RNC’s donor threshold for participation in the GOP presidential debate.” He would also need to qualify for at least two polls.
A Republican National Committee (RNC) sign stands in the media filing center ahead of the Republican presidential candidate debate in North Charleston, South Carolina, Jan. 14, 2016.Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
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All candidates have up until 48 hours prior to the Aug. 23 primetime event to prove to the RNC that they've hit at least 1% in three national polls or in a mix of national and early state polls recognized by the committee and have accrued 40,000 individual donors to their campaigns from at least 200 unique donors per state in 20 or more states.
Upon verification of the polling and donor thresholds, the Republicans are presented with the GOP loyalty pledge, which means they must agree to support the eventual party nominee. Each hopeful has to sign in the pledge in order then get on the Wednesday stage.
The latest to qualify for the debate is Hutchinson, who after having announced on Sunday that he had surpassed 40,000 unique donors, is confirmed to have also signed the GOP loyalty pledge per a source familiar with the RNC debate qualification process.
He’ll be on the stage after having previously reached the polling requirements. The vocal critic of former President Donald Trump said he would acquiesce to signing the pledge because he does not believe Trump will be the party's nominee.
Republican presidential candidate former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson waves to the audience during an event on Aug. 6, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.Charlie Neibergall/AP
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The frontrunner, Trump, says he won't be attending the debate. He pre-recorded a sit-down interview with Tucker Carlson last week, which will be aired as counterprogramming to the GOP debate on Fox Wednesday.
Trump, in addition to forgoing the stage, has said he would not sign the loyalty pledge. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said last week that she has a “feeling” former President Trump will sign the party’s loyalty pledge if he decided to participate in the debate, however.
“He’s signed the pledge before. He signed it to get on the South Carolina ballot,” McDaniel said on NewsNation. “I have a feeling if he wants to be on the debate stage, he’s going to sign that pledge.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
