Report: Seven Candidates Satisfy RNC’s Polling Requirements for First Debate

Seven Republican presidential candidates have met the polling debate requirements for the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next month, according to CNN.

To participate in its first debate, the Republican National Committee (RNC) requires any candidate to poll at one percent or better in three national polls or one percent or better in a pair of early state polls recognized by the RNC and conducted after July 1.

Entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced Saturday in a press release that he had easily surpassed the requirements with Friday’s Harvard/Harris poll, which shows him in third place with eight percent of support. 

 “The RNC’s debate stage criteria are stringent but fair,” Ramaswamy said in the release, adding: 

I am a first-time candidate who started with very low name ID, no political donors, and no pre-existing fundraising lists. If an outsider can clear the bar, politically experienced candidates should be able to as well: if you can’t hit these metrics by late August, you have absolutely no chance of defeating Joe Biden in the general election.

While Ramaswamy is just two points behind Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in the Harvard poll, he has also polled at eight percent in third place in two Morning Consult surveys this month, in addition to scoring second place in a Kaplan Strategies survey last week. 

Related — Anti-Woke Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy: “I Would Not Give Another Dollar to Ukraine” If Elected President

Nick Gilbertson / Breitbart News

Along with the 37-year-old entrepreneur, leading candidate former President Donald J. Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former Vice President Mike Pence, former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) have reached the threshold, CNN reported Monday. 

CNN notes that all of the candidates, spare Pence, have also met the RNC’s small donor requirements, meaning they will take the debate stage so long as they sign the candidate pledge to not participate in any debate that is not sanctioned by the RNC and to support the eventual party nominee. Ramaswamy intends to sign the agreement, his team noted Saturday. 

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union over the weekend, Pence told host Dana Bash his team is “making incredible progress toward that goal,” vowing that he will make the stage. 

Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) finds himself in the opposite situation. CNN reports he has accomplished his mission of reaching 40,000 unique small donors after giving out 20 gift cards in exchange for contributions, though he has not yet satisfied the polling mandates. He and others have until 48 hours before the debate begins to meet the requirements.