Eight candidates qualify for first Republican debate, RNC confirms
The Republican National Committee revealed late Monday that eight candidates have qualified for the party’s first primary debate, to be held Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will be on stage at the Fiserv Forum before a prime-time audience on Fox News Channel.
With former President Donald Trump announcing Sunday night he would skip the debate, citing his massive lead over the rest of the field in national and state polls, the debate represents the first major opportunity for an alternative to the 77-year-old to emerge from the Republican pack.
A Trump-aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again, Inc. was quick to cast the debate as a battle for second banana, going up with a website touting the “Vice Presidential Debate 2024” and asking supporters of the 45th president to vote for which of the eight would make the best Trump running mate.
Fox News on Monday barred Trump and other candidates who are not participating in the debate from allowing surrogates or aides access to the post-debate “spin room” at the Fiserv Forum unless they are guests of media organizations, a network spokesman confirmed to The Post.
Failed Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had also planned to attend on Trump’s behalf, CNN reported.
The debate will be co-moderated by the channel’s chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” host Martha MacCallum.
“The RNC is excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night,” party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
Fox News on Monday barred Trump and other candidates who are not participating in the debate from allowing surrogates or aides access to the post-debate “spin room” at the Fiserv Forum unless they are guests of media organizations, a network spokesman confirmed to The Post.
Failed Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had also planned to attend on Trump’s behalf, CNN reported.
The debate will be co-moderated by the channel’s chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” host Martha MacCallum.
To qualify for the debate, candidates had to certify that they had support from 40,000 unique donors, including at least 200 in 20 or more states or territories.
They also had to reach 1% support in three qualifying national polls or two national polls and one poll taken in two of four early voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
Candidates also were required to sign a pledge not to take part in any unsanctioned debates and support the eventual Republican nominee for president.
Candidates who did not qualify for the debate include Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, radio talk show host Larry Elder, and businessman Perry Johnson.
Three of the also-rans — Suarez, Elder, and Johnson — all publicly stated that they had met the criteria before the RNC confirmed the official lineup, and all four took issue with their exclusion from the debate.
“The debate process has been corrupted, plain and simple. Our campaign hit every metric put forward by the RNC and we have qualified for the debate. We’ll be in Milwaukee Wednesday and will have more to say tomorrow,” Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Elder, whose campaign is also mulling legal action, argued that he too had hit the polling threshold.
“I polled above 1% in ANOTHER qualifying poll that was conducted before the RNC’s deadline of 9pm ET last night, but the corrupt establishment insiders are STILL trying to keep me off the debate stage,” he tweeted,Suarez, who is under FBI investigation and previously suggested that candidates who don’t make the debate stage should drop out, struck a more diplomatic tone. “I am sorry that this debate will not include my perspectives from the largest growing voting block [sic] in our country – young, conservative Hispanics,” he wrote on X. “I respect the rules and process set forth by the RNC, and I look forward to working with my party to ensure we win back the White House and restore the path to a brighter future for our country.”
Meanwhile, Hurd blasted the RNC pledge requirement to commit to supporting the eventual nominees, which he refused to sign.
“The biggest difference between me and every single candidate who will be on the debate stage in Milwaukee is that I have never bent the knee to Trump,” he said in a statement. “It’s disappointing being kept off the debate stage, but I will not be deterred. The stakes are too high,”
Trump, 77, has a more than 40-percentage point lead ahead of his next closest competitor with 55.9% support, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
He is followed by DeSantis (14.6%), Ramaswamy (7.1%), Pence (4.3%), Haley (3.3%), Christie (3.1%), Scott (3%), Hutchinson (0.9%) and Burgum (0.5%).
Candidates also were required to sign a pledge not to take part in any unsanctioned debates and support the eventual Republican nominee for president.
