COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump won’t be on the Republican debate stage Wednesday. But the former president is driving the conversation on and off the debate stage anyway.
Trump supporters including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will be in Milwaukee. There are questions about how many of his campaign surrogates will be allowed into Fox News’ spin room. The network has restricted their access unless they are the guests of another media organization.
Eight other candidates met the donor and polling qualifications to be on stage, according to the Republican National Committee. For those who didn’t, missing the debate could be a decisive moment in their campaigns.
Conservative radio host Larry Elder has said he plans to sue the RNC over being left out, despite what he says is proof that he qualified for the debate. It also wasn’t immediately clear what Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — who didn’t make the cut — would do, following his Iowa State Fair comments that he might drop out of the race if that happened.
To qualify for the Aug. 23 debate, candidates needed to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the RNC: at least 1 percent in three national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls deemed acceptable by the committee, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.
Candidates also needed to commit at least 48 hours before the Wednesday evening debate, according to RNC criteria, which also required participants to sign a pledge promising to support the party’s eventual nominee.
A look at who’s in, who’s out and who’s decided not to participate:
Who’s in
RON DESANTIS: The Florida governor has long been seen as Trump’s top rival, finishing a distant second to him in polls in early-voting states and in national polls as well, and raising an impressive amount of money.
But DeSantis’ campaign has struggled in recent weeks to live up to high expectations. He let go of more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
With Trump absent, DeSantis may be the primary target for others on stage. According to people familiar with DeSantis’ planning, the campaign is preparing him for nonstop attacks.
TIM SCOTT: The South Carolina senator has been looking for a breakout moment. The first debate could be his chance.
A prolific fundraiser, Scott entered the summer with $21 million cash on hand.
Scott is hitting the early-state campaign trail after the debate, traveling to New Hampshire, Iowa and his home state of South Carolina, where he has four stops planned on Monday.
NIKKI HALEY: She has blitzed early-voting states with campaign events, walking crowds through her successes ousting a longtime South Carolina lawmaker, then becoming the state’s first female and first minority governor. Also serving as Trump’s U.N. ambassador for about two years, Haley frequently cites her international experience, focusing on the threat China poses to the United States.
The only woman in the GOP race, Haley has said transgender students competing in sports is “the women’s issue of our time” and has drawn praise from a leading anti-abortion group, which called her “uniquely gifted at communicating from a pro-life woman’s perspective.”
Entering the race in February, Haley has brought in $15.6 million.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY: The biotech entrepreneur and author of “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam” is an audience favorite at multicandidate events and has polled well despite not being nationally known when he entered the race.
Ramaswamy’s campaign says he met the donor threshold earlier this year, but this summer he rolled out “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet” to boost his donor numbers even more by letting fundraisers keep 10 percent of what they bring in for his campaign.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: The former New Jersey governor opened his campaign by portraying himself as the only candidate ready to take on Trump. Christie called on the former president to “show up at the debates and defend his record,” calling him “a coward” if he doesn’t.
Last month, Christie — who kicked off his campaign in June — told CNN that he surpassed “40,000 unique donors in just 35 days.” He also has met the polling requirements.
DOUG BURGUM: Burgum, a wealthy former software entrepreneur now in his second term as North Dakota’s governor, has been using his fortune to boost his campaign.
He announced a program last month to give away $20 gift cards — “Biden Relief Cards,” hitting President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy — to as many as 50,000 people in exchange for $1 donations. Critics have questioned whether the offer violates campaign finance law.
MIKE PENCE: Trump’s vice president had met the polling threshold but struggled to amass a sufficient number of donors, raising the possibility he might not qualify for the first debate.
But on Aug. 8, Pence’s campaign announced that it had crossed the 40,000 donor threshold, and also that he had become the first candidate to formally submit his donor count to the RNC for verification.
ASA HUTCHINSON: The former two-term Arkansas governor was the final candidate to meet the RNC’s qualifications. Satisfying the polling requirements but slowly working on passing the donor threshold, Hutchinson said Sunday on CNN that he had finally surpassed 40,000 unique donors.
Hutchinson is running in the mold of an old-school Republican and has differentiated himself from many of his GOP rivals in his willingness to criticize Trump. He posted pleas on Twitter for $1 donations to help secure his slot.
