Mike Pence QUALIFIES for first debate and ex-VP’s campaign tells former boss to have ‘courage’ to join Milwaukee lineup
- Pence reached the donor threshold needed to participate in the GOP debate
- He is the eighth and likely last candidate to qualify before the August 21 deadline
- The former VP’s campaign is pushing for Trump to appear onstage with competitors
Mike Pence is the eighth Republican nominee to make it to the August debate stage after hitting the 40,000 donor threshold on Monday.
For weeks, the former vice president has met the Republican National Committee’s polling criteria, but has tried to get enough donors in enough states and territories to debate other qualifiers.
However, Pence and the other candidates on the debate stage are still unlikely to face front-runner Donald Trump — who has clearly qualified but has not committed to participating.
Pence’s campaign wants his former boss to pull himself together and debate.
Mike Pence qualified for the first GOP presidential primary debate this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Aug. 23
Pence’s campaign told Trump to have the ‘courage’ to show up for the debate as the ex-president refuses to show
Mike Pence made quick and easy work of the donor threshold and he looks forward to a substantive debate on the issues that matter to the American people. Hopefully former President Trump has the courage to show up,” Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement. statement to Fox News.
Along with Trump and Pence, the other candidates who passed the mandatory polling and donor threshold are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramawamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie and Doug Burgum, Governor of North Dakota.
With just two weeks until the first GOP debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pence may be the last candidate to qualify.
Much of the talk surrounding the first debate revolves around whether Trump will participate.
The ex-president said on Truth Social that he would watch the debate to see if a potential vice presidential nominee was on the podium.
RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel created a new rule this year that requires anyone who wants to participate in the debate to sign a pledge pledging to support anyone who becomes the GOP nominee.
Some candidates, such as Christie and yet-to-be-qualified former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, have objected to this requirement. They argue it suits Trump as he has the best chance of earning the nomination.
There are 15 candidates vying for the GOP nomination in 2024 and eight have passed the polling and donor threshold to run. Trump and DeSantis are way ahead of the rest of the pack, and no one else is earning double digits in national polls
The RNC also requires candidates to get more than 1 percent in three national polls — or in two national polls and one from two of the four early primary contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
In addition, candidates must collect donations from 40,000 individuals with at least 200 from 20 different states or territories.
In polls, Trump is the distant frontrunner with DeSantis a distant second — usually about 20-30 percent behind. Pence falls with the rest of the field. He is often tied for fourth place with other longshot contenders.
Other than Trump and DeSantis, none of the other 15 candidates in the running have earned double-digit support in national polls.