By Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com
18:46 20 Aug 2023, updated 18:46 20 Aug 2023
- Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson qualified for the first GOP 2024 debate
- Hutchinson surpassed 40,000 unique donors Saturday night
- He’s one of only a few Republican presidential candidates willing to sharply criticize former President Donald Trump
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that he has met the donor requirement and will appear on the debate stage Wednesday in Milwaukee.
The 2024 Republican presidential hopeful said he qualified by surpassing the required 40,000 unique donors Saturday night, sharing the news with USA Today and announcing it on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday morning.
Hutchinson told USA today that his donor surge was thanks to his sharp-tongued criticism of former President Donald Trump, something most of the GOP lineup has avoided.
‘I will be on the stage,’ Hutchinson said on CNN. ‘I’m pleased to announce that we have met all the criteria that the RNC set to be on the debate stage. We have met the polling criteria. And now we have met the 40,000 individual donor criteria.’
Hutchinson’s inclusion comes as the Republican National Committee’s Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and several of Trump’s rivals held out hope that the ex-president will make a last-minute decision and participate in the first GOP debate.
‘I’m still holding out hope that President Trump will come,’ McDaniel said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. ‘I think it’s so important that the American people hear from all the candidates.’
Former Vice President Mike Pence echoed that sentiment.
‘I served alongside the president a long time and one thing I realized about him is it’s not over ’til it’s over,’ Pence said on ABC’s This Week. ‘So I’m actually still hoping he shows up.’
Pence wouldn’t go as far as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another 2024 rival, who has called Trump a ‘verified coward’ for skipping the Milwaukee debate.
‘They talk a little different in New Jersey than we do out in Indiana, Jon, I’ll let other people make their judgment,’ Pence told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. ‘But I’d hope he’d be there, I hope everybody that’s qualified for the debate stage – and I’m grateful we did – is on that stage.’
Trump is expected to skip the Fox News Channel-sponsored debate, moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, after feuding with the conservative network for months.
He plans to release a pretaped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that the sit-down with Carlson already happened.
The RNC has yet to put out an official list of candidates who made the cut.
McDaniel said Sunday – around the same time Hutchinson announced he had qualified – that seven had definitely qualified and will appear at the debate and several were on the cusp.
Candidates had to have 40,000 unique donors, including 200 each from 20 states and also be polling at at least 1 percent in three nationals polls or two national polls and two polls from states with early contests – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
The seven who met the requirements are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott.
Trump could easily meet the requirements and also qualify.
Hutchinson’s announcement means he could be the eighth candidate to appear onstage in Milwaukee.
Hutchinson said that he’d sign the RNC’s loyalty pledge to support whomever becomes the party’s nominee.
A person familiar with the debate process told DailyMail.com that Hutchinson’s donors haven’t been verified and he hasn’t yet signed the pledge.
Two additional candidates, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and businessman Perry Johnson, also claim they have met the RNC’s qualifications.
The person familiar also said that Suarez and Johnson’s numbers haven’t been verified by the RNC.
