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Michigan businessman Perry Johnson has appeared to qualify for the first GOP presidential primary debate, thanks to new polls released Friday.
Johnson is the ninth candidate who appears to have met the Republican National Committee's requirements to qualify for the debate, according to a NBC News analysis of those requirements.. The debate is set for Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Johnson registered at 1% in a new national poll from Victory Insights, and he registered at 1% and nearly 2% in polls of Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively from the Trafalgar Group. A national Trafalgar poll released Thursday also found Johnson at 1%.
“When I get to that debate stage, I will tell the American people about my plan and what we’ll do to save our country and rescue the American dream,” Johnson said in a statement.
In addition to meeting polling thresholds, the RNC also required that candidates pledge to support the party's eventual nominee and gather campaign donations from at least 40,000 individual donations. Johnson announced earlier this month that he had met the donor requirement.
Johnson has stressed his business experience in his campaign. His previous foray into politics involved an attempt to run for Michigan governor last year, but he failed to gather the necessary signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Since launching his presidential run in March, Johnson's campaign has spent $2.9 million on ads, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact — the third highest sum for campaigns, behind Sen. Tim Scott, whose campaign has spent $6.5 million and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, whose campaign has spent $5.9 million on ads.
Johnson has largely self-funded his bid, loaning his campaign $8.4 million so far, according to campaign finance documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The eight other candidates who have appeared to qualify for the first primary debate include Scott, Burgum, former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
