Several prominent New Hampshire Republicans have signed an open letter to both Fox News and the head of the Republican National Committee asking them to revise their format for the first GOP presidential primary debate in August.
Fox announced in May that only the top 10 GOP candidates, as determined by the average of the five most recent national polls ahead of the Aug. 6 debate, will be secured a place on stage. The move rankled some conservatives who noticed the limit would inevitably exclude lower-tier candidates with less name recognition and who would benefit from the national exposure of a debate.
“We urge you 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 said. “We strongly encourage you to revise your criteria and present a format for your debate that embraces these principles and puts voters’ interests first.”
The letter, signed by nearly 60 people active in New Hampshire Republican politics, was addressed to Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. Co-signing the letter were former Gov. Craig Benson, former Rep. Chuck Douglas and some current state-level representatives.
It suggested an alternative format that would divide the GOP field, which may approach 20 official candidates by August, into two panels that debate back-to-back. Each debate would feature of mix of top-tier and bottom-tier candidates.
Though the debate takes place in Cleveland, New Hampshire is an early primary voting state.
A spokesperson for Fox News did not immediately return a request for comment.
