OAN’s Brooke Mallory
11:00 AM – Thursday, July 13, 2023
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Tim Scott both met the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) contributor criteria to participate in the first GOP presidential debate that is scheduled for August.
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Christie, who was polling at around 1% in June, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday that his campaign “went past 40,000 unique donors in just 35 days.”
“And [to] give you some perspective because I ran eight years ago, in 35 days eight years ago, we had 5,000 donors. Over 40,000 donors now,” Christie said. “There is a donor in every state in America, and we have over 200 donors in 36 states. So there’s really a broad support for the candidacy.”
Scott (R-S.C.) and his team shared their thoughts in a statement on Wednesday, saying, “We can also proudly confirm Tim will be on the debate stage for months to come thanks to over 145,000 donations from over 53,000 unique donors across all 50 states.”
Scott’s campaign had reported bringing in $6.1 million in revenue for the second quarter, which ran from April through June. In a separate release, TIM PAC, the super PAC backing Scott’s presidential run, said it raised $19.28 million in the second quarter and had a little over $15 million in cash on hand at the end of June.
Scott’s polling numbers are coming in at 4%, according to a survey from late June.
The Republican National Committee confirmed last month that the first presidential debate will be conducted on Aug. 23rd in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which will also host the party’s nominating convention next year.
Participants are required to have at least 40,000 unique donors contribute to their campaign, with at least 200 distinct donations from at least 20 states.
Candidates must also get at least 1% in three national polls or 1% in two national polls and at least 1% in one early state survey from two separate “carve-out” states to qualify for stage time. Carve-out states include Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
Candidates who meet those conditions must additionally sign a vow to support the ultimate Republican nominee.
During an appearance on “The Howie Carr Show” on Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asked former President Trump to commit to the discussion. So far, the former president, who is now polling at approximately 56% in the Republican primary and leading in the race, has not committed to being on stage next month. DeSantis is the only other Republican candidate polling in the double digits, although he is still trailing behind Trump’s popularity.
“Nobody is entitled to this nomination. You have got to earn the nomination, and doing things like The Family Leader event in Iowa, doing things like these debates — they’re important parts of the process,” DeSantis said. “Every candidate needs to be put to the test, and I think he needs to step up and do it.”
Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesman, said that DeSantis “should focus on his own flailing campaign, rife with internal conflict and subversion among his closest supporters, instead of throwing a temper tantrum because he is losing so badly.”
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