Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson vowed to keep campaigning for president despite his exclusion from Wednesday night’s Republican primary debate due to bad polling.

Hutchinson lamented his exclusion in a statement on Monday night.

“Despite falling short of the RNC’s polling requirement for inclusion in the second Presidential Primary Debate, I will continue our campaign to bring out the best of America with events scheduled in Iowa, New Hampshire, and across the country in the next several weeks,” he said.

“I understand that the RNC and the media are trying to reduce the number of candidates, but I measure success based on the response I receive in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. My goal is to increase my polling numbers to 4% in an early state before Thanksgiving,” he continued. “If that goal is met, then I remain competitive and in contention for either Caucus Day or Primary Day.”

2024 Republican presidential candidates Asa Hutchinson, Chris Christie, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, and Doug Burgum during the Republican primary presidential debate hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hutchinson closed his statement by making no mention of current President Joe Biden — the man he will presumably be facing in the event of a longshot nomination — and instead used it to grandstand about former President Donald Trump.

“I entered this race because it is critically important for a leader within the Republican Party to stand up to Donald Trump and call him out on misleading his supporters and the American people. I intend to continue doing that and look forward to holding a press conference in Detroit on Wednesday where I will highlight his false promises to blue-collar and union workers in Michigan and across America,” he said.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) released the names of presidential candidates that qualify for Wednesday night’s debate, knocking former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson off the list.

The debate will be held Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, where the following candidates will duke it out for a chance to earn the Republican nomination for president: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (SC).

Trump also qualified for the second primary debate but has declined to attend.

“Wednesday’s debate is another opportunity for the RNC to share our diverse candidate field with the American people. The Republican Party is united around one common goal – Beating Biden – and there is no better place to showcase our conservative vision for the future than the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.

The RNC announced that the debate will stream on Rumble and will air at 9 p.m. ET on Fox Business and Univision.

Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.