Former Vice President Mike Pence announced Tuesday his presidential campaign reached the necessary donor threshold to qualify for the first Republican presidential debate.
Pence became the eighth GOP candidate to qualify for the debate scheduled to be conducted August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to a Fox News report.
In order to qualify for the debate, the Republican National Committee established a donor threshold of 40,000 unique donors, with specific state and territorial requirements.
Candidates are also required to receive at least one percent support in at least three primary polls. They must further pledge to support the eventual party nominee in order to make it onto the debate stage.
The other Republican candidates who qualified are Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum and Asa Hutchinson, according to a Fox News report.
The report questions whether former President Donald Trump will attend. He was the first candidate to qualify for the debate but expressed reluctance to pledge loyalty to the party nominee, much as he did in 2016.
Pence’s campaign used traditional methods to qualify, such as direct mail requests to garner small donations from grassroots supporters.
According to a CNN report, Pence’s campaign has been positioning him as a Reagan conservative, championing spending cuts and permanent tax cuts, bolstering military spending, and upholding strong U.S. support for Ukraine.
“Sometimes people ask me what it would be like to debate Donald Trump and I tell people I’ve debated Donald Trump a thousand times. Never with cameras on,” Pence last week told reporters in New Hampshire.
Trump’s vice president added that participating in the debate will let voters take a fresh look at him, which he considers important. Pence often claims he is well-known but not known well and hopes the debate fixes that.
There was a noticeable surge in donations for Pence after the indictment of former President Donald Trump, according to a report from The Washington Post.
This shift may indicate a growing segment of the party looking for leadership grounded in traditional conservative values.
Pence’s campaign expressed excitement and readiness for a constructive debate that will highlight the key issues and policies that matter most to conservative voters.
Original Article: https://resistthemainstream.com/pence-team-takes-shot-at-trump-as-former-vp-reaches-threshold-for-first-debate/
