CNN will let up to 18 Republicans participate in an upcoming presidential campaign debate, nearly double what Fox will allow.
The cable news network said its Sept. 16 debate, co-hosted by the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Library, will be divided into two groupings of candidates.
One group, as with the Fox debate scheduled for Aug. 6, will feature the top 10 candidates according to public polling. The second grouping will include others that meet the minimum threshold of 1 percent in public polling but are ranked outside the top 10.
CNN
The Examiner’s Eddie Scarry, reporting on the Fox decision to chop the GOP field to the top 10, said that it could eliminate the chances of major potential candidates from appearing. He wrote: “Under the latest Real Clear Politics average of national polls, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.S.C., would not make the cut. But the poll averages are very close. Fiorina, Jindal and Graham each are polling at 1.3 percent, and they trail Kasich’s 2.0 percent.”
Secrets was told that CNN felt potential candidates like Kasich, Jindal, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Graham shouldn’t be excluded, even if their early polling is low. CNN envisions a second debate including six to eight other GOP candidates.
The issue, of course, is the growing parade of Republicans interested in running for president and the struggle by TV to manage a massive debate stage. While Fox decided to be more aggressive in segregating which candidates matter, CNN felt it is too early to trim the field. Fox said that the list could grow to 12.
“We support and respect the decision CNN has made,” Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said about the debate’s format, according to a CNN story on the debate.
The cable network gave detailed criteria for getting a ticket to either debate:
Candidate Criteria for September 16, 2015 CNN Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Republican Presidential Primary Debate
To receive an invitation to the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate, a candidate must satisfy the following criteria:
1. Fulfill the requirements outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States
2. File a Statement of Candidacy and register with the Federal Election Commission by August 26, 2015
3. Achieve an average of at least one percent in three national polls from among those that are recognized in this document. Recognized polls must be released between July 16, 2015 and September 10th, 2015.
4. Have at least one paid campaign aide working in two of the four “early voting states” designated by the Republican National Committee: Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina no later than August 26, 2015
5. Visited two of the four “early voting states” designated by the Republican National Committee at least once no later than August 26, 2015
6. The first 10 candidates – ranked from highest to lowest in polling order from an average of all qualifying polls released between July 16 and September 10 who satisfy the criteria requirements outlined in this document will be invited to participate in “Segment B” of the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate. In the event of a tie for 10th place, the tie-breaker will be an average of all qualifying polls released between August 26 and September 10. The second tie-breaker will be an average of all qualifying polling conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada released between July 16 and September 10.
7. Candidates who satisfy the criteria and achieve an average of at least one percent in three national polls, but are not ranked in the top 10 of polling order will be invited to participate in “Segment A” of the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate.
Qualifying polls
Polling data will only be considered for live interviewer national polls sponsored by the following sources to determine eligibility for the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate: ABC/The Washington Post, Bloomberg, CBS/The New York Times, CNN, FOX, Gallup, Marist, McClatchy, Monmouth University, NBC/The Wall Street Journal, Pew, Quinnipiac, USA Today, Time. For the second tiebreaker, qualifying polling includes all live interviewer polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada conducted by organizations listed above as well as those sponsored or conducted by Clemson University, the Des Moines Register, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Winthrop University. To determine eligibility, poll averages will not be rounded up or down to the closest whole number.
Additional Note:
*If the number of candidates who qualify for the debate is 14 or fewer, CNN reserves the right to limit the number of participants in “Segment B” to eight candidates. The remaining qualified candidates will be invited to participate in “Segment A” of the debate.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
