Ramaswamy says he’s qualified for GOP debate

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign said Saturday that he had qualified for the first GOP debate next month, giving his upstart candidacy a boost as the seeks to gain more traction in the race.

His campaign said he had more than 65,000 unique donors — meeting the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) donor threshold, which requires candidates to have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors, including at least 200 donors from 20 or more states.

Ramaswamy’s campaign also said they had met the RNC’s polling criteria, which requires candidates to poll at a minimum of 1 percent in three national polls.

Candidates can also meet the threshold by polling at 1 percent in two national polls and 1 percent in two polls conducted in two early presidential primary states, which include Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

Ramaswamy’s team cited two Morning Consult polls taken this month that placed his support at 8 percent, a Kaplan Strategies poll taken this month placing him at 12 percent and a Harvard/Harris poll this month placing him at 10 percent. 

The campaign also said Ramaswamy plans to sign the RNC’s debate pledge to back the eventual Republican nominee. 

The donor, polling and pledge criteria are all required in order for candidates to make the Aug. 23 GOP debate in Milwaukee.

Ramaswamy’s announcement is notable given he’s been jockeying for name ID and donors against a handful of better-known candidates, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Polling shows former President Trump as the clear front-runner in the race despite several legal controversies.

“The RNC’s debate stage criteria are stringent but fair,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. 

“I am a first-time candidate who started with very low name ID, no political donors, and no pre-existing fundraising lists. If an outsider can clear the bar, politically experienced candidates should be able to as well: if you can’t hit these metrics by late August, you have absolutely no chance of defeating Joe Biden in the general election,” he added.