If you’ve read my posts, you know that I don’t like McDaniel. I backed her opponent Harmeet Dhillon in January. Despite having said she wouldn’t run again, the incumbent chairwoman won a fourth term.
Susie Wiles was Donald Trump’s chief adviser and ran a shadow election to help her win her recent re-election. I wasn’t happy with the result.
So what’s the problem this time? As of this post, we are only two days away from the first GOP primary debate, and no one has any idea who has qualified. That’s not just because people are still grinding to meet the requirements. Rather, it’s because the requirements, though somewhat defined, are ambiguous enough that candidates are claiming they’ve met them when they might not have.
Some candidates claim to have qualified for the RNC’s official list, even though they are not on it.
Johnson also announced Friday he qualified for the debate after hitting 1% in a national poll from Victory Insights and 1.8% in a NH Trafalgar Group poll.
During a press gaggle after his soapbox speech at the Iowa State Fair, he said he was set on making it to that stage.…
— Perry Johnson (@PJQualityGuru) August 18, 2023
I am excited to announce that I have met all of the criteria to qualify for the @GOP’s first primary debate.
While our campaign only began a few weeks ago, I am humbled knowing that Republicans from all fifty states have donated to our campaign—nearly 50,000 thus far.
Now, I… pic.twitter.com/VNBGVvJ77N
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) August 18, 2023
It was fair that candidates had until the RNC to receive proof of their qualification on Monday night. The RNC could have provided some confirmation, but since candidates had announced their qualifications days earlier, it would have been useful.
The RNC requires that a candidate have 40,000 donors, and a 1% score or higher in at least three national polls. This sounds simple, but confusion is apparent among candidates.
We’ve mentioned that candidates near the bottom of the list, like Perry Johnson and Francis Suarez, claim to have met their threshold within a short time. But did they? Since this data is self-reported, it’s difficult to determine if there has been any fudged information.
This requirement is more problematic. Can an online panel poll qualify, even though these types of surveys tend to be less reliable? It is unclear whether a poll using an online panel can qualify, despite the fact that these types of surveys are typically less reliable.
The poll can only be conducted by a Super PAC, a firm affiliated with a candidate or committee. It is hard to prove this.
The RNC could have avoided all of this if they had just pre-selected the polls and made them public. It would have also made the process transparent and stopped candidates from falsely saying that they made it to the discussion.
It is an extraordinary lift to eclipse Michael Steele as the worst party chairman in history, but she found a way. pic.twitter.com/oEKlacra9c
— Max Twain (@MaxTwain24) August 20, 2023
Trump confirmed that he will not be attending. Although it’s his right, the RNC has messed up this issue.
Donald Trump Jr. is also attending. Donald Trump Jr. will also be attending.
Treating Trump like he’s the greatest candidate to ever walk the Earth is not the right thing to do. A candidate who does not attend should be treated as if they didn’t show up. RNC appears to be accommodating the frontrunner, but this is unfair to the majority of people.
It is not surprising that a few GOP members are unhappy with the lack of leadership in this committee.
As a member of the RNC, I would support a rules amendment that requires a candidate to participate in all RNC-sanctioned debates to be eligible for nomination at the 2024 convention. https://t.co/g5MnRc38Pn
— Gordon Ackley (@GordonAckleyVI) August 20, 2023
McDaniel has a clear leaning toward Trump. Two days before the first debate and the candidates are still announcing that they meet the requirements. Nobody knows whether this is true.
This is really pissing me off. I’m sick and tired of supporting a party that is so nakedly inept and corrupt. But hey, at least we won’t run short of “5x matching” scam emails from the RNC anytime soon.
