Could an all-male debate hurt the GOP?

Carly Fiorina has hosted dozens of townhall forums and meet-and-greets in early primary states since launching her presidential campaign in May. She has garnered attention in the media for her steadfast criticism of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and her status as the only female GOP candidate has given her a unique opportunity to stand out in the male-dominated field.

Nevertheless, Fiorina’s inability to make headway in national polls precluded her from securing a spot in the first GOP primary debate to be held Thursday. Instead, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO will participate in a forum hours before the debate alongside other candidates who failed to make the cut.

After averaging each of the candidates’ performances in five national polls, Fox News announced Tuesday that the top 10 GOP contenders slated to participate in Thursday’s debate are: Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, and John Kasich.

“In an ideal world, a lot of Republicans would like to have [Fiorina] on stage,” GOP strategist Ford O’Connell told the Washington Examiner. “Not just because of what she represents, but because of how she talks about the issues and about Hillary Clinton.”

With Fiorina absent from the debate stage, O’Connell predicts that Democrats will “try to make hay about it.” He says Republicans should be prepared to respond by pointing out that the Democratic field currently has “only one female, two less Latinos and one less black candidate running.”

“I don’t think the book is open or closed on Fiorina just yet, but it would be more helpful to have her on that stage,” O’Connell said.

Ahead of Fox News’ announcement, those in Fiorina’s camp emphasized the ‘historically misleading’ nature of early national polling.

“Our strategy does not depend on any one single event to propel our candidate forward,” Fiorina’s national finance chairman, Terry Neese, said on Monday. “The ground game matters and there is an operation in Delaware, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina, with more to come.”

Ashley O’Connor, who serves as managing partner at a Republican campaign strategy firm says including Fiorina in the conversation is “important,” but voters need to keep in mind that the primary process is “very long and there will be plenty of other debates for Carly to take part in.”

“There’s so much importance being put on Thursday,” O’Connor said. “Would it be better if she’s up there? Yes. [But] will there be other debates where viewership will continue to grow? Absolutely.”

Both strategists agreed that Fiorina represents the Republican party well and can grow as a candidate if she continues to position herself as a strong leader.

“It is important to show the many different flavors of the Republican Party and she’s obviously a vital wing of that,” O’Connell said. “If she does well in the Thursday night [forum] and she’s going to make headlines.”

The first GOP debate comes at a time when Clinton is struggling to maintain her edge in the polls and is losing support among white women — a demographic she relied heavily on in 2008 when running against then-Sen. Barack Obama.

According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Monday, Clinton’s favorability rating among white women has dropped by 10 percentage points in just one month. In July, 34 percent of white women held a favorable view of Clinton compared to 44 percent in June. Meanwhile, 53 percent of white, registered female voters hold an unfavorable view of the former secretary of state.

Fiorina reacted to being excluded from the top 10 candidates in a statement released Tuesday evening.

“I continue to be encouraged by the support of conservative activists and grassroots Republicans across the country,” she said. “They know we need someone from outside the political class if we want America back in the leadership business.”