Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who’s running for the GOP presidential nomination, appears to have met the Republican National Committee’s qualifications to make this week’s primary debate in Milwaukee.
Hutchinson’s campaign appeared to have fulfilled the RNC’s polling threshold, according to an NBC News political unit analysis. But his campaign announced on Sunday that it had also reached the minimum threshold of 40,000 unique donors to qualify for first debate on Aug. 23, sponsored by the RNC.
He’s also expected to sign the party’s pledge to support its eventual nominee, despite his repeated criticism of that pledge tied to his opposition to former President Donald Trump.
Nine other contenders appear to be cleared for the debate stage: former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson.
Trump has decided not to attend the debate this week and is seeking a sit-down interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a means of counter-programming the event, NBC News reported Friday, citing two sources familiar with his thinking.
Hutchinson, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump on the campaign trail, says that although the former president is in the “default position,” he thinks voters are open-minded, willing to weigh alternatives, and will use the debate to explore other options.
“People are looking for that debate as an opportunity to contrast the candidates. The first time, here in Iowa, New Hampshire, all across the country,” Hutchinson said. “That’s their first way to measure the candidates side-by-side. So it’s important.”
Aug. 17, 202312:37
Candidates have until Monday night to certify they’ve hit the party’s criteria, and it’s unclear if any other candidates will do so before that deadline.
The field won’t be set until the RNC officially certifies which candidates have qualified — the NBC News Political Unit has analyzed party criteria to see which candidates appear to have met the party’s polling and fundraising thresholds.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
