1st Republican debate: Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy and more appear to qualify -- but not Pence, yet
Trump, DeSantis and four other candidates, but not Pence, seem to have qualified for the first Republican primary debate, on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie all appear to have met the qualifications to attend the first GOP primary debate next month in Milwaukee, after having reached the polling thresholds set by the Republican National Committee and -- the candidates say -- the fundraising requirements, too. Missing from that list, so far, is former Vice President Mike Pence, though Pence insists he will have enough donors to make the debate and has already drawn enough support in early polls. The RNC announced criteria in June that the candidates must meet on polling, fundraising, status and pledging in order to earn a spot on stage on Aug. 23. Candidates have until 48 hours before the debate to qualify, per the RNC. The party has not yet publicly confirmed which candidates have qualified, though officials hav...