Long Shot 2024 Candidate Qualifies for GOP Debates, Rebukes 'Dumb' Loyalty Pledge Required
Long-shot Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie said he has met the minimum requirements to reach the stage in next month’s first 2024 primary debate.
The former New Jersey governor joined CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night where he announced he had made the cut.
Cooper noted qualifying criteria include that a candidate must have one percent support in more than one national poll.
Additionally, those hoping to see the stage must have a minimum of 40,000 unique donors and at least 200 individual donors in a minimum of 20 states.
Christie said he hit the threshold and that his campaign is ahead of where it was in the 2016 primary.
“I am glad to be able to tell people tonight, Anderson, that last night we went past 40,000 unique donors in just 35 days, and it gives you some perspective because I ran eight years ago. In 35 days, eight years ago, we had 5,000 donors. We have over 40,000 donors now,” Christie told CNN.
“There is a donor in every state in America, and we have over 200 donors in 36 states,” the 60-year-old added. “So we have really broad support for the candidacy. We’re really thrilled about it.”
After being in this race for only a month, we’ve received over 40k individual donations to our campaign and met all RNC requirements to reach the debate stage. Americans are ready for someone to stand up to Donald Trump, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Get your popcorn🍿 pic.twitter.com/HcilCP0nfi
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) July 13, 2023
“The good news I think for the Republican Party is that means I’m going to be on the debate stage on August 23.”
Christie exited in the 2016 primary in Feb. after finishing sixth in New Hampshire with the support of only seven percent of voters in the state.
Later in his interview with Cooper, Christie took issue with one of the debate stage requirements, which is a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.
Christie called the pledge a “dumb idea.”
The candidate previously vowed not to take such a pledge seriously, and said he had shared his displeasure of it with the Republican National Committee.
“I’ll take the pledge in 2024 just as seriously as Donald Trump took it in 2016,” Christie told CNN’s Jake Tapper last month.
Christie is currently polling at 2.6 percent in the Real Clear Politics average.
An Economist/YouGov poll released on Tuesday found that among Americans of every background, Christie is viewed favorably by 22 percent of them.
Fifty-six percent of 1,500 American adults viewed the candidate unfavorably while the rest had no opinion on him.
The first Republican primary debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Aug. 23.
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