Burgum announces he has met fundraising requirement for first GOP presidential primary debate

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Wednesday that he's reached the 40,000 unique donors threshold to qualify for the Republican presidential primary debate stage in August.

The GOP governor, a wealthy former software executive who's been self-funding his campaign, has been offering $20 gift cards to 50,000 donors to try and reach the minimum needed to appear on the debate stage. The novel fundraising method has allowed Burgum to hit 40,000 donors ahead of other GOP rivals, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

"We passed the 40,000 mark today. We've got more gift cards to give out. We're going to keep on going," Burgum told CNN's Manu Raju on "Inside Politics."

The governor said that he has received donations from all 50 states. He did not have a number of how gift cards his campaign gave out to donors.

He pushed back against criticism that he's buying his way onto the debate stage, saying, "I think that's funny actually."

"We know that the people who donate to us now may continue to donate cause what they see they're going to like, and they're going to continue to support us. This is about a smart strategy, it's about an entrepreneur with a business attitude," he added.

Still, Burgum has yet to reach the polling threshold needed to secure his spot on the debate stage.