The Race to the First Republican Debate

The first Republican presidential primary debate is slated for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. Twelve candidates have entered the race to date, but some are unlikely to make the stage for the first debate. To participate, candidates must meet a mix of fundraising and polling criteria set by the Republican National Committee. They must also pledge to support the party’s eventual nominee.

Fundraising requirements

The fundraising criteria set by the RNC require candidates to have 

• At least 40,000 unique donors to their principal campaign committee

• At least 200 unique donors in each of 20 or more states or territories 

Here is a breakdown of what the campaigns say they have raised as of July 17:

A spokesman for former Vice President Mike Pence declined to share the number of unique donors to his campaign so far. The Francis Suarez and Will Hurd campaigns didn’t return a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Larry Elder said he hadn’t qualified as of Monday.

Polling requirements

Candidates must garner at least 1% support in three national polls or poll at 1% in two national polls, plus one poll from two different early-voting states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina). 

The RNC said it would only recognize polls conducted on or after July 1 that survey at least 800 registered likely Republican voters. It won’t consider polls affiliated with a candidate or with a committee of a candidate. 

The large sample size and likely-voter requirement—rather than registered voters or all Republicans—could limit the number of qualifying polls. Candidates must meet this criteria at least 48 hours before the debate.

Here’s how the candidates have fared in polls as of July 17:

Methodology:
The Wall Street Journal counted donors to the Trump campaign by finding unique combinations of first name, last name and ZIP Code in Federal Election Commission filings by the candidate’s principal campaign committee. The analysis included donations from Jan. 1 through June 30 and was limited to individuals who gave more than $200. The Journal’s totals should be treated as estimates and may vary from totals released by the campaign because, without access to additional private information about each donor, the newspaper isn’t able to verify the identity of each donor. Also, donor totals released by campaigns may include information since June 30, the latest period included in FEC filings.

Photos: Mike McCleary/Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune/Associated Press (Burgum); John Locher/Associated Press (Christie); Justin Lane/Shutterstock (DeSantis); Brian Cahn/ZUMA Press (Elder); Scott Olson/Getty Images (Haley); Alex Brandon/Associated Press (Hurd, Pence, Ramaswamy, Trump); Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press (Hutchinson); Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press (Scott); Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press (Suarez)

Write to James Benedict at [email protected], Kara Dapena at [email protected] and Anthony DeBarros at [email protected]