"North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum Secures Spot in GOP Primary Debate with Innovative Fundraising Strategy"

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has qualified for the first GOP presidential primary debate, becoming the seventh candidate to do so. Burgum, a former software executive, has poured his personal wealth into his campaign and used an unusual tactic of offering $20 gift cards to donors who gave his campaign a dollar to meet the Republican National Committee's requirement of 40,000 unique donors. He crossed the donor threshold last week and also passed the polling threshold by hitting 1 percent in a national poll. However, there are doubts about whether all seven qualified candidates, including former President Donald Trump, will show up for the debate.