The first Republican presidential primary debate is less than a month away, and seven of the candidates seeking the GOP nomination for the White House have met the required polling and fundraising criteria to earn a spot on stage.
Last month, the Republican National Committee (RNC) revealed the polling and fundraising criteria that GOP presidential candidates must reach in order to make the stage at the first primary debate, which Fox News will host on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The debate starts at 9 p.m. ET.
To make the stage, candidates are required to reach 1% in three national polls, or 1% in two national polls and two state-specific polls from the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. The polls must also be recognized by the RNC and must be conducted on or after July 1.
Additionally, to reach the debate stage, candidates must have 40,000 unique donors to their campaign committee (or exploratory committee), with ‘at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories,’ according to the RNC criteria.
The Republican candidates who have reached both the polling and fundraising threshold are, in alphabetical order:
North Dakota Gov. Doug BurgumFormer New Jersey Gov. Chris ChristieFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantisFormer South Carolina Gov. Nikki HaleyEntrepreneur Vivek RamaswamySouth Carolina Sen. Tim ScottFormer President Donald Trump
Other GOP candidates, as of Wednesday, have not yet met the fundraising threshold required by the RNC to take a spot on stage.
The candidates who have met polling requirements – but not fundraising requirements – include:
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa HutchinsonFormer Vice President Mike Pence
The RNC says candidates must present their fundraising figures at least 48 hours prior to the first debate.
The candidates also must sign a pledge agreeing to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee; agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC-sanctioned debates for the rest of the 2024 election cycle; and agreeing to data-sharing with the national party committee, the RNC noted last month.
The first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle will air on Fox News, and Rumble is the online live-streaming partner. Young America’s Foundation is also a partner in the first debate.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
