Longshot Republican hopefuls Larry Elder and Perry Johnson on Tuesday threatened to sue the Republican National Committee to stop Wednesday night’s debate, claiming they met the requirements to appear on stage.
Elder said Tuesday he had the required 40,000 individual donors, including 200 from 20 states, and had met the RNC’s opinion requirement of at least 1 percent support in three national polls or 1 percent in two national polls and two polls from an early election. stands.
The radio show’s conservative host — who lost to California Governor Gavin Newsom in the 2021 state recall election — said the Rasmussen polls he submitted to the RNC were thrown out because of the company’s “ties to former President Donald Trump.”
“I intend to sue the RNC to stop Wednesday’s presidential debate,” Elder wrote on Twitter. “I said from the start that it looked like the rules had been tampered with, but we didn’t know how bad it was.”
The RNC fired back in a statement with spokesman Keith Schipper saying, “The RNC has spent more than two years working on a transparent and fair primary process that will put our final nominee in the best position to defeat Biden.
Longshot Republican hopefuls Larry Elder (left) and Perry Johnson (right) on Tuesday threatened to sue the Republican National Committee to stop Wednesday night’s debate, claiming they met the requirements to appear on stage
Elder posted on X, aka Twitter, that he planned to “suing” the Republican National Committee for not being included in the first GOP debate
“The eligibility criteria for the first debate were clearly presented to the campaigns and the RNC leadership and debate committee members were in constant contact with candidates and campaigns throughout the qualification period,” said Schipper.
Someone familiar with the process said several of the polls submitted by Rasmussen did not have the required sample size, while another was funded by a PAC associated with one of Trump’s PACs.
In his statement, Elder pointed out that Rasmussen was “one of only THREE polling stations that accurately predicted the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.”
Elder also said he “didn’t know if Donald Trump has worked with Rasmussen before.”
“For some reason, the establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid to let my voice be heard on the debate stage,” Elder said. “Just as I had to fight to successfully appear on the ballot in the recall election in California, I will fight to be on that debate stage because I fully met all the requirements to do so.”
Elder wasn’t the only GOP hopeful to grumble about being left out of the debate stage.
Johnson, a Michigan businessman who previously tried to run for governor of the state, also threatened legal action after being told he was ineligible for the first GOP debate.
Former Representative Will Hurd also criticized the RNC’s election requirements after failing to make cuts. He reiterated on Tuesday that he would not sign the “RNC’s blood oath to Donald Trump.”
“The corrupt and rigged RNC debate process has been a disaster from the start,” Johnson said in a statement. “Our campaign has met all the standards set forth by the RNC and we have qualified for the debate.”
“Obviously the RNC knew from the start who they wanted on stage and who they wanted off stage. Simply put, this is a flawed decision by a poorly conducted process by a corrupt organization,” Johnson continued.
“This morning I am working with my team to take legal action against the RNC,” he said.
Johnson had loaned his presidential campaign more than $8 million and offered donors a $10 gas card for a $1 donation to boost his donor numbers and thus qualify for the first debate.
The source familiar with the process told DailyMail.com that Johnson was one survey short of qualifying for the debate phase.
He also didn’t check with the RNC that the polls counted — and one he included wasn’t technically a nationwide poll, polling only voters from about two-thirds of the states.
Former Representative Will Hurd also criticized the RNC’s election requirements after failing to make cuts.
In a social media post, the former Texas congressman said Tuesday morning that “the RNC disregarded polls that included independents and Democrats willing to vote for Republicans.”
“The lack of transparency and confusion surrounding the RNC’s debate requirements is contrary to the democratic process,” Hurd also said. “Voting standards are arbitrary, unclear and lack consistency.”
While Elder signed the RNC’s required oath to ultimately support the Republican nominee, Hurd — one of a trio of anti-Trump Republican candidates — has declined.
He repeated that on Tuesday.
“I have said from day one of my candidacy that I will not sign a blood oath to Donald Trump,” Hurd said.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, another contender, also said he met the debate requirements, but did not.
Suarez said at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month that those who do not qualify for the first debate will have to drop out.
“I agree that if you can’t meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn’t try to take away the time you need to be productive,” he said.
Later Tuesday, “Suarez will make an announcement about the future of his campaign,” his spokesman told Bloomberg News.
Trump remains the way out in the front runner in the Republican presidential race and plans to skip Wednesday night’s debate in Milwaukee.
Eight GOP hopefuls eventually took the podium, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former UN tenure. Nikki Scott, Senator Tim Scott, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.