There Are Now Questions About Trump Participating in First GOP Primary Debate After RNC Releases Criteria

The Republican National Committee announced Friday the first presidential primary debate will take place August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a second debate potentially being held on August 24 if enough candidates qualify.

According to the statement, GOP presidential candidates must meet all of the criteria listed below. 

Candidate Status:

• Be eligible to run (natural born U.S. citizen, resident for 14+ years, 35 years or older). 
• Have declared his or her candidacy.
• Have an active FEC Form 2 (Statement of Candidacy) filed with the FEC in which they identify as a candidate for the Republican nomination. 
• Have an active FEC Form 1 (Statement of Organization) filed with the FEC designating the candidate’s principal campaign committee. 

Polling:

• Poll at least 1% in three national polls OR 1% in two national polls and 1% in one early state poll from two separate “carve out” states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina) recognized by the RNC. For a poll to be recognized, it must:
  1. Survey at least 800 registered likely Republican voters through a mix of live calls, integrated voice response, online panels, and/or text message.
  2. Not overly weight responses of any individual cohort beyond the margin of the error of the poll.
  3. Ask the question on presidential preference prior to any question which may allow potential bias.
  4. Not be a conducted by a polling company affiliated with a candidate or candidate committee.
• Meet this polling requirement no later than 48 hours prior to the first scheduled debate and must be conducted on or after July 1, 2023.

Fundraising:

• Have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors to candidate’s principal presidential campaign committee (or exploratory committee), with at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories. 
• Present this evidence to the RNC no later than 48 hours prior to the first scheduled debate. 

Candidate Pledge:

• Have signed pledge agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle. 
• Have signed pledge agreeing to support the eventual party nominee. 
• Have signed RNC data-sharing agreement. 
• Present signed pledges and agreement to the RNC no later than 48 hours prior to the first scheduled debate. (RNC)

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To qualify for future debates, the RNC may raise the fundraising and polling threshold, the statement added.

"The RNC is committed to putting on a fair, neutral, and transparent primary process and the qualifying criteria set forth will put our party and eventual nominee in the best position to take back the White House come November 2024," said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. 

The criteria may mean that the current GOP frontrunner, former President Trump, will not participate. If Trump loses the nomination, he has not committed to supporting the candidate who emerges victorious, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt in February that “it would have to depend on who the nominee was."

He has also suggested he may skip the early debates.

According to the RealClearPolitics average of national polling, six Republicans are currently above 1 percent: Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Of those, only Pence has not officially announced yet, though he's expected to launch his presidential campaign on Wednesday.