‘Cherry-picking’: Candidates lash out at RNC after not making debate stage

The Republican National Committee announced late Monday night that eight candidates qualified for a spot on the debate stage this week. But those left off the list have a bone to pick with the committee.

Businessperson Perry Johnson plans to take legal action. So does conservative radio host Larry Elder. And former Rep. Will Hurd says he thinks the RNC cherry-picks polls to count toward making the debate stage.

“I'm tied with [Ambassador] Nikki [Haley] … and Vice President [Mike] Pence in New Hampshire. I’m close to hitting the 50,000 threshold, but they cherry-pick because they don't want me on the stage,” Hurd said during an interview at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The former Texas congressman had been in town to prepare for the Milwaukee debate but was leaving after learning the RNC axed him from the lineup.

“This is not just about silencing me — it's silencing all the people that want to see someone like me up on stage,” Hurd added.

To qualify for the first GOP debate on Wednesday, candidates needed donations from at least 40,000 national contributors and to rank above 1 percent in three national polls or two national polls and a state poll.

Those who didn’t make the debate — Johnson, Elder, Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — appeared to lack the polling numbers the RNC deemed eligible to qualify.

Johnson seemed to have snagged an invitation to the debate on Friday but was excluded because one of the polls he tried to claim, a survey from the firm Victory Insights, did not meet the RNC’s criteria because it surveyed Republican primary voters in only 38 states, according to a person with knowledge of the decision who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about it. Johnson’s campaign, in a statement Tuesday morning, said the RNC did not inform them until Monday afternoon that the Victory Insights poll wouldn’t count, calling the committee’s decision “completely misguided.”

And Ben Galbraith, a pollster at Victory Insights, said in a brief interview with POLITICO on Tuesday that its poll was a national survey, and that the reference to 38 states represented where respondents actually completed interviews. It’s not unusual for a national poll of Republican primary voters to have few or no respondents from small, Democratic-leaning states like Vermont or Hawaii, though they are included in the sample, he said.

Johnson called the process to meet the criteria for the debate “corrupted” and said he plans to take legal action.

Hurd told POLITICO the RNC put in place the debate requirements because the committee wants to see a smaller field.

“This is why so many Americans are frustrated. ... And this is another example of why the GOP hasn't won a national election in 20 freaking years, right?” the normally mild-mannered Hurd told POLITICO. “We should be the party of diverse ideas.”

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel pushed back against the criticism.

“Our rules were very clear. We put them out very early, and we abided by the rules,” McDaniel told POLITICO in an interview. “There's no favor, there's no bias. We really just stuck to our rules.”

McDaniel said she called all the candidates who fell short of the stage Monday night — save for little-known Republican Ryan Brinkley — to let them know there would not be a podium for them at Fiserv Forum Wednesday night.

“I have nothing against all four of these candidates. They are far better than Joe Biden. I wish them the best. Their campaigns can continue. They still have time to qualify for California. But the rules are the rules,” McDaniel said.

Elder said he also plans to take legal action to halt the debate. Though Elder claims he earned a spot on stage, POLITICO’s analysis of donors and polling did not find he met the requirements.

Suarez also claimed he met the polling requirements, in a tweet that’s now deleted, but the RNC did not certify the polls he submitted. Suarez addressed the RNC's decision Tuesday afternoon.

"I am sorry that this debate will not include my perspectives from the largest growing voting block in our country — young, conservative Hispanics," Suarez wrote on social media.

At the Iowa State Fair earlier this month, Suarez told reporters that if a candidate doesn’t make the debate stage, then it’s time to drop out. However, it wasn't clear Tuesday whether he would do so immediately. A spokesperson for Suarez did not respond to repeated inquires about the future of his campaign.

"I respect the rules and process set forth by the RNC, and I look forward to working with my party to ensure we win back the White House and restore the path to a brighter future for our country," Suarez said in the post.

Now we wait.

Zach Montellaro contributed to this report.