The first Republican primary debate will be taking place in Milwaukee on August 23, and multiple presidential candidates have already announced their intentions to take part.
Others are still hoping to meet qualifications set by the Republican National Committee.
At the start of June, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced a set of criteria that candidates must reach to be eligible for participation in the debate.
In addition to being legally qualified to run for office, candidates must “poll at least 1% in three national polls OR 1% in two national polls and 1% in one early state poll from two separate ‘carve out’ states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina) recognized by the RNC” in order to qualify for the first debate.
Candidates must also have at least 40,000 unique donors and a minimum of 200 unique donors in at least 20 U.S. states or territories.
Finally, candidates must sign multiple pledges regarding debates, party nominee support, and data-sharing. Evidence for all criteria must be made available to the RNC no later than 48 hours before the first debate.
With the debate just over one month away, some candidates already seem to be close to qualifying, and a Morning Consult poll released on July 11 provided insight into the race’s state of play.
The poll results found that former President Donald Trump has the support of 56% of respondents. Despite the overwhelming support, Trump may choose to skip the first debate, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also expected to qualify for the debate after polling at 17%. DeSantis is expected to be Trump’s main challenger, and his team recently released a four-step border security plan titled “No Excuses.”
No other candidate registered more than 10% support from potential Republican voters in the poll, but businessman Vivek Ramaswamy did garner an 8% share and is expected to be at the debate. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy, told USA Today that he already has over 65,000 donors.
The only other candidate who received more than a 5% share in the poll was former Vice President Mike Pence, who registered 7% support from potential voters. Despite the support, Pence has only raised $1.2 million, and an aide told The New York Times that he has not yet reached the 40,000 minimum of unique donors.
Three candidates all received a 3% share of the Morning Consult poll.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) received 3% of support from potential Republican voters, but he claims to have already met the qualifications for the upcoming debate with more than 53,000 donors.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also received 3% support, but a spokesperson told USA Today that she already has “well over 40,000 unique donors.”
Finally, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received a 3% share of support from voters. He also expects to be a part of the first debate and has already reached the minimum number of donors. He spoke with CNN, claiming that his campaign “went past 40,000 unique donors in just 35 days.”
