Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, during the Republican primary presidential debate hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson failed to qualify for the GOP’s second presidential debate this week, but the other seven candidates who attended the first debate in August will be back on stage on Wednesday. in California.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., are all qualified for the second debate Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, according to a statement from the Republican National Committee.
That means these candidates met all three of the party’s qualifying criteria: a unique donor threshold, a minimum voting requirement and signed commitments, including supporting the party’s eventual candidate. Former President Donald Trump, who also skipped the first GOP debate, easily surpassed the first two requirements, according to the NBC News analysis. But he has refused to sign party pledges, without which he cannot qualify.
Most of the candidates scheduled to meet Wednesday passed each threshold with ease, but Burgum didn’t pass all his qualifying polls until the weekend before the debate.
That made Hutchinson the only candidate who participated in the party’s first debate last month and was ineligible this time. A number of other GOP candidates — including former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, conservative commentator Larry Elder, Michigan businessman Perry Johnson and Ryan Binkley, a pastor and entrepreneur — were ineligible for either contest.
The main issue for Hutchinson – and the one that almost blocked Burgum – was the electoral threshold, which required candidates to achieve a higher rating in fewer polls than the first debate’s criteria. Neither candidate could consistently reach 3% in national or state polls.
Missing the debate stage and the free publicity that comes with it previously proved costly. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez dropped out of the presidential race days after failing to qualify for the first debate.
Hutchinson, one of the weaker fundraisers heading into the 2024 presidential election, recently told reporters in South Carolina that he had no specific exit in mind for his presidential race. In New Hampshire, he said missing the debate would mean he would have to rethink his campaign.
But shortly after news broke that he would miss the debate, Hutchinson said in a statement that he would continue his campaign.
“I understand that the RNC and the media are trying to reduce the number of candidates, but I measure success by the response I get in early primaries like Iowa and New Hampshire,” he said. “My goal is to increase my early voting numbers to 4% before Thanksgiving. If that goal is achieved, I will remain competitive and compete for Caucus Day or Primary Day.”
Hutchinson continued: “I entered this race because it is critical for a leader in the Republican Party to stand up to Donald Trump and call him out for misleading his supporters and the American people. I plan to continue doing that.”