Doug Burgum says he’ll meet RNC requirements for first debate
Mabinty Quarshie
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Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) said he will meet the Republican National Committee‘s donor requirements on Wednesday, enabling him to participate in the first presidential debate of the GOP primary next month.
“We’ll cross 40,000 today,” Burgum told radio host Hugh Hewitt, referencing the RNC donor threshold. “But we’re not stopping. Yeah, we’re not stopping there. I mean, we know they’ll keep raising the bar.”
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In addition to the 40,000-donor requirement, the committee mandates that candidates must have 200 or more unique donors from at least 20 states to appear at the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Earlier this month, Burgum’s campaign began offering $20 gift cards to those who donated $1 to his campaign, a tactic that helped increase the number of donors.
“We’ve got some Biden inflation relief gift cards left to give away,” Burgum said on Hewitt’s show. “And we’re happy to send [listeners] a gift card. And I’d rather send dollars to our supporters than send it to some Big Tech online marketing firm that would be charging five times that.”
Burgum is mounting a long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. He currently polls at 0.2% in a RealClearPolitics average, while former President Donald Trump is polling at 53.7%.
Burgum also criticized special counsel Jack Smith, who Trump claimed sent him a target letter on Sunday stating he was under investigation for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
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“This kind of activity undermines the American citizens’ belief that our institutions are fair,” Burgum said. “If you’re going to be undermining people’s confidence in the institutions that were required for us to be able to function as a democracy, then you’re effectively undermining democracy itself. And that’s a huge problem.”