Pence Qualifies for 1st Republican Primary Debate in Wisconsin: Campaign

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at Hilton in Washington on June 23, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Former Vice President and 2024 Republican White House candidate Mike Pence has met the polling and donor threshold required to qualify for the first Republican presidential nomination debate, his campaign confirmed on Aug. 7.

A spokesman confirmed that Mr. Pence had met the qualification requirements in a statement to Fox News.

“Mike Pence made quick and easy work of the donor threshold, and he’s looking forward to a substantive debate about the issues important to the American people,” Pence campaign spokesman Devin O'Malley told the publication.

“Hopefully, former President [Donald] Trump has the courage to show up,” Mr. O'Malley added of the former president, who is currently the frontrunner in the GOP 2024 race.

The latest announcement makes Mr. Pence one of eight GOP presidential candidates to meet the requirements, as laid out by the Republican National Committee (RNC), to qualify for the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As per those requirements, candidates must receive at least 40,000 unique donors to their principal presidential campaign committee or exploratory committee, including at least 200 unique donors from 20 or more states and territories each.

They must also be polling at least 1 percent or higher in at least three national polls recognized by the RNC, or at 1 percent or more in two national polls, as well as in one “early state poll” from two separate “carve out” states recognized by the RNC: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

Polls recognized by the RNC should be conducted among at least 800 registered likely Republican voters through a mix of live calls, integrated voice response, online panels, and/or text messages on or after July 1. They cannot be conducted by a polling company affiliated with a candidate or candidate committee.

Additionally, candidates must sign a pledge agreeing to support the eventual party nominee.

Under the RNC rules, candidates have to present evidence that they have met the requirements to the RNC no later than 48 hours before the first debate is scheduled to take place.

Trump ‘Polls’ Supporters on Upcoming Debate Appearance

So far, Mr. Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum have met the RNC requirements and are expected to appear on stage alongside Mr. Pence at the August debate.

However, it is not yet clear if Mr. Trump, who recently pleaded not guilty to four federal charges filed against him relating to his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, will attend the debate.

According to USA Today, the former president, who is currently leading in the GOP nominee polls, asked his supporters in an email over the weekend to take a poll on whether or not they think he should “show up” to the Republican primary debate.

Mr. Pence announced his 2024 White House bid in June in a lengthy video message in which he took aim at “President Joe Biden and the radical left,” which he said “have weakened America at home and abroad.”

“The American dream is being crushed under runaway inflation. Wages are dropping. Recession is looming. Our southern border is under siege, and the enemies of freedom are on the march around the world. And worse still, timeless American values are under assault as never before,” Mr. Pence said.

He later vowed that the “best days for the Greatest Nation on Earth are yet to come.”

Since his initial announcement, Mr. Pence has received notable endorsements from Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and his brother, Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.).