Fox News has set the rules. Which GOP candidates will make it onto the debate stage?

Laura Clawson

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday May 21, 2015 · 7:08 AM PDT

2015/05/21 · 07:08

no image description available — Eight looked like a lot in 2012 debates, but 2016 will feature 10 or more Republican candidates.

U.S. Republican presidential candidates gather before the start of their debate in Ames, Iowa August 11, 2011. They are (from L to R) Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich. REUTER

Eight looked like a lot in 2012 debates, but 2016 will feature 10 or more Republican candidates.

The rules are set for how many Republican presidential candidates will be allowed to crawl out of the clown car and go on stage for the first primary debate of the cycle. Now, the question is which candidates will meet the requirements and be among the lucky 10 (or 11 or 12) to be included in the August 6 Fox News debate.

The network will require contenders to place in the top 10 in an average of the five most recent national polls in the run-up to the event, narrowing what is expected to be a field of 16 or more by the Aug. 6 event in Cleveland.

If polls are tied, there could be more than 10 candidates on stage. So who would make the grade if the debate were held today?

The top 10 contenders in the five most recent national polls are former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, real estate tycoon Donald Trump and former Texas governor Rick Perry, according to a Washington Post analysis. Former U.S. senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are a fraction of a point behind Perry.

That means a Carly Fiorina-free sausage fest that does not paint the picture of faux diversity the Republican Party is hoping for. Also, Donald Trump! How fabulous will that be? Guys, really, if you get any national presidential poll calls in the week or two before August 6, please tell them you're voting for Donald Trump, just to ensure that we all get to see both how he performs in a debate and the expressions on the other candidates' faces while he's talking.

Fox News has set the rules. Which GOP candidates will make it onto the debate stage?

Comments are closed on this story.