More than 50 Republican activists and officeholders in New Hampshire have signed an open letter to the heads of Fox News and the Republican National Committee to “urge” those leaders to “reconsider the criteria and to design a debate that will allow voters to hear from a more diverse and inclusive group of candidates who have filed to run for president.”
The letter is address to Roger Ailes, the president of Fox, and Reince Priebus, the RNC president. The New Hampshire Republicans say they have concern about the first presidential primary debate, hosted by Fox and the RNC, that will limit the stage to the top 10 GOP candidates according to opinion polls. That debate is scheduled for August and will be held in Ohio.
“Historically, it has been the responsibility of early primary and caucus states to closely examine and winnow the field of candidates, and it is not in the electorate’s interest to have TV debate criteria supplant this solemn duty,” says the letter. “To do so would undermine the very nature of our process and the valuable service that states like New Hampshire provide to voters across the country.”
The letter acknowledges the “logistical and broadcast challenges” of holding a debate with more than ten candidates. But the signatories also note that with such an unusually large field of potential candidates that the differences in polling this early in the process are likely to be statistically insignificant. “Any metric used to select the top ten candidates based on public polling this early in the nominating process would make it impossible to ensure fairness.”
Here’s what the New Hampshire Republicans suggest for an alternative:
• From the top six candidates in public polls, randomly draw three to appear during the first session and three to appear in the second session;
• Randomly draw the remaining candidates and split them evenly between the two panels.
Among the 56 signatories are former governors Steve Merrill and Craig Benson, several state senators including the current senate president and senate majority leader, and a number of state representatives, mayors, local party leaders, and activists.
Read the complete letter and see the names who have signed it here.
