Christie, Scott notch RNC donor requirement for first GOP debate

Both New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) have reached over 40,000 donors for their respective campaigns – the minimum number of donors deemed necessary in order to qualify for the first GOP presidential debate next month.

“I’m glad to be able to tell people tonight, Anderson, that last night, we went past 40,000 unique donors in just 35 days,” Christie told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview. 

“And [to] give you some perspective because I ran eight years ago, in 35 days eight years ago, we had 5,000 donors. Over 40,000 donors now,” he continued. “There is a donor in every state in America, and we have over 200 donors in 36 states. So there’s really a broad support for the candidacy.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott’s campaign also noted in their memo on the candidate’s second quarter fundraising figures on Wednesday that he, too, met the donor requirement with more than 53,000 donors contributing to him from every state in the country.

In order for Republican presidential candidates to qualify for the first debate, which is slated for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, one of the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) criteria that must be met is having at least 40,000 unique donors contribute to a candidate’s campaign, with a minimum of at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states each. 

Candidates also must meet a polling threshold – at least 1 percent in three national polls or 1 percent in two national polls and at least 1 percent in “one early state poll from two separate “carve out” states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina),” according to the RNC.

If those requirements are met, then candidates are required to sign a pledge stating they’ll support the eventual GOP nominee. Scott and Christie will also need to meet the polling requirements and pledge in order to be on the stage next month.

The looming question is whether former President Trump will participate in the first debate; Trump has been noncommittal about whether he’ll attend.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) put pressure on Trump to attend the debate during an interview Wednesday on “The Howie Carr Show.”

“Every candidate needs to be put to the test, and I think he needs to step up and do it,” DeSantis told Carr.