Who’s In, Who’s Out for First GOP Debate in August

With less than a month to go until the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 campaign, seven candidates say they have met qualifications for a spot on stage in Milwaukee. That also means that about half the broad GOP field is running short on time to make the cut.To qualify for the August 23 debate, candidates needed to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1 percent in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and August 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with at least 200 in 20 or more states.The current front-runner, President Trump, long ago satisfied the polling and donor thresholds. Yet he is considering boycotting and holding a competing event.Campaign advisers have said the former president has not made a final decision about the debate. One noted “it’s pretty clear,” based on Mr. Trump’s public and private statements, that he is unlikely to appear with the other candidates.“If you’re leading by a lot, what’s the purpose of doing it?” Mr. Trump asked on Newsmax.Aides have discussed potential alternative programming if Mr. Trump opts for a rival event. One option he has floated is an interview with a former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, who now has a program on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.Governor DeSantis, who has also already qualified, has long been seen as Mr. Trump’s top rival, finishing a distant second to him in a series of polls in early-voting states, as well as in national polls, and raising an impressive amount of money.Mr. DeSantis’s campaign has struggled in recent weeks to live up to the sky-high expectations that awaited him when he entered the race. He let go of more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.If Mr. Trump is absent, Mr. DeSantis may be the top target on stage at the debate.Senator Scott of South Carolina, another shoe-in for the debate, has been looking for a breakout moment. The debate could be his chance. A prolific fundraiser, Mr. Scott enters the summer with $21 million cash on hand.In one debate-approved poll in Iowa, Mr. Scott joined Messrs. Trump and DeSantis in reaching double digits. The senator has focused much of his campaign resources on the leadoff GOP voting state, which is dominated by white evangelical voters.Nikki Haley has blitzed early-voting states with campaign events, walking crowds through her electoral successes ousting a longtime incumbent South Carolina lawmaker, then becoming the state’s first woman and first minority governor. Also serving as Mr. Trump’s U.N. ambassador for about two years, Ms. Haley frequently cites her international experience, arguing about the threat China poses to America.The only woman in the GOP race, Ms. Haley has said transgender students competing in sports is “the women’s issue of our time,” and she has drawn praise from a leading anti-abortion group, which called her “uniquely gifted at communicating from a pro-life woman’s perspective.”Bringing in $15.6 million since the start of her run, Ms. Haley’s campaign says she has “well over 40,000 unique donors” and has satisfied the debate polling requirements, meaning she will be on the stage in Milwaukee.Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, author of “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,” is an audience favorite at multi-candidate events and has polled well despite not being nationally known when he entered the race.Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign says he met the donor threshold earlier this year. He recently rolled out “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet” to boost his donor numbers even more, by letting fundraisers keep 10 percent of what they bring in for his campaign.A former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, opened his campaign by portraying himself as the only candidate ready to take on Mr. Trump. Mr. Christie called on the former president to “show up at the debates and defend his record.”Mr. Christie will be on that stage even if Mr. Trump isn’t, telling CNN this month that he surpassed “40,000 unique donors in just 35 days.” He also has met the polling requirements.A wealthy former software entrepreneur now in his second term as North Dakota’s governor, Doug Burgum, has been using his fortune to boost his campaign.He announced a program this month to give away $20 gift cards — “Biden Relief Cards,” as a critique of President Biden’s handling of the economy — to as many as 50,000 people in exchange for $1 donations. Critics have questioned whether the offer violated campaign finance law.Within about a week of launching that effort, Mr. Burgum announced he had surpassed the donor threshold. Ad blitzes in the early-voting states also helped him meet the polling requirements.Among those who have not qualified are Mr. Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence. He has met the polling threshold but has yet to amass a sufficient number of donors, raising the possibility that he might not qualify for the party’s first debate.Mr. Pence and his advisers have expressed confidence he will do so, noting that most other Republican hopefuls took a month or two of being active candidates to meet the mark. Mr. Pence formally entered the race on June 7, the same day as Mr. Burgum and one day after Mr. Christie.“We’re making incredible progress toward that goal. We’re not there yet,” Mr. Pence told CNN in a recent interview. “We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage.”According to Asa Hutchinson’s campaign, the two-term former Arkansas governor has met the polling requirements but is working on satisfying the donor threshold. As of Wednesday, Mr. Hutchinson counted more than 11,000 unique donors.Mr. Hutchinson is running in the mold of an old-school Republican and has differentiated himself from many of his GOP rivals in his willingness to criticize Mr. Trump. He has posted pleas on Twitter for $1 donations to help secure his slot.The Miami mayor, Francis Suarez, has been one of the more creative candidates in his efforts to boost his donor numbers. He offered up a chance to see Lionel Messi’s debut as a player for Inter Miami, saying donors who gave $1 would be entered in a chance to get front-row tickets for the first match featuring the Argentine soccer legend.Still shy of the donor threshold, he took a page from Mr. Burgum’s playbook by offering a $20 “Bidenomics Relief Card” in return for $1 donations. A super political action committee supporting Mr. Suarez launched a sweepstakes for a chance at up to $15,000 in tuition, in exchange for a $1 donation to Mr. Suarez’s campaign.A conservative radio host in the race, Larry Elder, wrote in an op-ed that the RNC “has rigged the rules of the game by instituting a set of criteria that is so onerous and poorly designed that only establishment-backed and billionaire candidates are guaranteed to be on stage.”His campaign last week declined to detail its number of donors, saying only that there had been “a strong increase the last few weeks.” He has not met the polling requirements.A wealthy but largely unknown businessman from Michigan, Perry Johnson, said in a recent social media post that he had notched 23,000 donors and was “confident” he would make the debate stage. He added that all donors were “eligible to attend my free concert in Iowa featuring” country duo Big & Rich next month.Mr. Johnson, who has reached 1 percent in one qualifying poll, has also offered to give copies of his book “Two Cents to Save America” to anyone who donated to his campaign.A former Texas congressman and the last candidate to enter the race, on June 22, Will Hurd, has said repeatedly that he would not pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, a stance that would keep him off the stage even if he had the qualifying donor and polling numbers.Associated Press

Who’s In, Who’s Out for First GOP Debate in August

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