Updated CNN GOP debate average + why it may be the same 10 people+Fiorina

[eric82oslo]

The debate is being held at the Reagan library and Nancy Reagan along with CNN today officially invited 16 candidates (everyone but Gilmore). Although apparently Gilmore can make it in if he can just get to 1% in some more polls. CNN also had some details on the format....

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http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/11/politics/cnn-debate-nancy-reagan-invitations/index.html

Sounds great that they'll do them back-to-back. I'd like the first debate to be longer than one hour though. Ideally, both debates would be two hours long, with the kiddie debate including nine candidates and the grown up debate having eight candidates. This way, the more serious candidates would get more airtime and questions each.

[eric82oslo]

Any chance CNN changes their rules to shorten the time-frame of poll inclusion (get rid of all pre-debate polls)? Only Christie and Kasich would probably care, and it would probably not look as bad as keeping an obviously higher than 11th place candidate out of the debate.

Hard to say but I kind of doubt it. If they changed the rules and essentially swapped out Christie for Fiorina it would look like favoritism. It could even be a possible FEC violation.

But some others are noticing the issue. The Hill has an article up: CNN criteria threaten Fiorina’s chance at main debate stage

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The article notes that CNN "declined to comment on its criteria and their potential impact on the field"

We are now coming to the end of week five of CNN's eight week window for polls in their average. Fiorina really needs the pace of new polls to pick up in the next 3 weeks. She is really at the mercy of the pollsters.

Maybe she could pay for one or two new polls herself? I doubt that the big media firms would have very much against that. Most newspapers hardly feel they can afford polls these days anyways.