Hutchinson says he’s ‘close to halfway there’ in reaching GOP presidential debate threshold

GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson on Thursday said he’s “close to halfway there” on reaching the donor threshold required to get on stage for the party’s first primary debate later this month.

“I think we’re close to halfway there. We’ve got about three weeks left, so we’ve got work to do,” Hutchinson said on CBS News.

The White House hopeful said his campaign had garnered 10,000 donors in the past two weeks and is “growing by 1,000 a day.” 

“[We] have a lot of momentum. We’re going to get there,” Hutchinson said.

Before candidates can get on the Aug. 23 debate stage, they must first qualify by fulfilling several requirements set by the Republican National Committee (RNC). They have to meet specific polling requirements — and a benchmark of 40,000 unique donors to their principal presidential campaign committee, including at least 200 from 20 or more states and territories each. 

So far, the candidates who appear to have met polling and donor marks for the first GOP debate include former President Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Hutchinson and former Vice President Mike Pence appear to have met the polling requirements but are still trying to hit the donor mark.

The first primary debate is set to take place in Milwaukee later this month, meaning candidates have roughly three weeks to hit the requirements to qualify.

The RNC this week released higher polling and donor criteria for presidential candidates to make the second GOP debate, which is set for Sept. 27 at the Ronald Regan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.