Asa Hutchinson credits Iowa State Fair with getting him near GOP presidential debate stage

The first Republican presidential debate is within arm's reach for candidate Asa Hutchinson.

Hutchinson announced to Iowa State fairgoers he was roughly 2,000 donors away from meeting the 40,000 required while speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Saturday afternoon.

It comes merely days ahead of the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee and marks a turn of events for Hutchinson, who wasn't even a quarter of the way to the donor requirement in mid-July.

Hutchinson, who said his campaign garnered more than 15,000 unique donors over the past week alone, credited his candor about former President Donald Trump, skepticism from media about fulfilling the debate requirement, and Iowa in helping him close the gap.

"Quite frankly, Iowa's a key part of it," he told reporters following the soapbox. The Iowa State Fair, he said, has "given us this surge that would put us over the top."

Candidates must reach at least 40,000 donors, with at least 200 donors in 20 or more states, and at least 1% support in three high-quality national polls or a combination of national and early-voting state polls. They also need to sign a pledge they will support the eventual nominee — a requirement Hutchinson said Saturday he would agree to.

More: Against the odds, Asa Hutchinson remains optimistic he'll join first Republican debate

Hutchinson previously said he’s also reached the polling requirement set for the debate by the Republican National Committee, despite not spending a “dime” on television advertising.

Hutchinson, who espouses Ronald Regan-era values and policies, has made dozens of visits to Iowa, stopping at more than 40 events since April. His retail-style campaign has focused on covering the entire state, often speaking at events in cities like Wahpeton, Garber and Newton at events hosted by local county GOP committees to groups as small as eight prospective voters.

Hutchinson returned for the start of the Iowa State Fair, boasting he was the only presidential candidate at the opening ceremony on Aug. 10. He said he picked up steam in donations both nationally and in Iowa over the past week in response to attending the fair nearly every day.

Asa Hutchinson: 'I don't want to be the apple of Putin's eye, I want to be a thorn in his side.'

Taking the soapbox stage in blistering 93-degree heat, he shared his prediction with a crowd of more than 60 prospective voters: Iowa will join him in selecting a president who is not Donald Trump.

"Whenever you look at where we are going, I believe that talking to Iowans all up and down here that you're going to be the first state that moves away from Donald Trump," he said before cheers and claps erupted from the audience. "It's going to be a gradual process because he's sort of the default position. You know, I was with Trump in 2020 and 2016 and we moved away, he's not the right leader for our future."

Trump, who quickly met the donor requirement to qualify for the debate, implied he would forgo the event altogether to hold his own competing event, according to CNN. Hutchinson said the possible absence and decision to not debate the "issues" with opponents don't "serve the party well, it doesn't serve our country well and it doesn't speak well for him."

He told reporters Trump's presence would still be felt despite his absence, adding it would snub chances for candidates to challenge him. He joined former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christi in jabbing Trump for saying he was the apple of Russian President Vladimir Putin's eye in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday.

"Whenever he says he's the apple of Putin's eye, he needs to be challenged on that," Hutchinson said. "That is showing weakness to Russia and I don't want to be the apple of Putin's eye, I want to be a thorn in his side."

Asa Hutchinson joins Gov. Kim Reynolds' "fair-side chat,"

Earlier in the week, Hutchinson joined Gov. Kim Reynolds for her "fair-side chat" where he introduced an immigration plan that would have a state-based visa program to bring in skilled workers for industries such as agriculture and healthcare.

In a subsequent chat with reporters, he briefly jabbed Ron DeSantis about the state of Florida paying to fly about 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard last fall, calling the tactic "showboating." He applauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who moved migrants arriving in Texas to downtown Los Angeles — saying Abbott approached the issue in a "much more serious way."

More: GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson visits the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox

Sporting his red and blue sneakers that read, "Honor" and "Respect," from Iowa-based Honor And Respect LLC, Hutchinson and his wife, Susan, wandered through the fairgrounds several times over the week, stopping to shake fairgoers' hands.

Hutchinson approached people with more or less the same introduction: "Hi, I'm Asa Hutchinson. I'm running for president of the United States," before asking what they had planned while at the fair and handing them a campaign flyer.

On Friday, Hutchinson was joined by his daughter, Sarah Hutchinson Wengel, and grandson. They played ski ball, and Hutchinson and Susan rode the Double Wheel. Hutchinson's daughter convinced him to ride the "Sling Shot" Friday afternoon.

After the Register's soapbox, Hutchinson stopped by the Iowa Pork Tent to flip pork, a stop for multiple presidential candidates.

Hutchinson told the Register he will be heading to Milwaukee over the next few days.

More: Asa Hutchinson knows clock is ticking as he seeks donations for presidential campaign

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Days from first GOP debate, Asa Hutchinson says he's close to 40k donor