2016 Presidential Election: Which Republican Candidates Will Appear In Top-Tier Of Next Week’s Debate?
The first Republican debate of the 2016 presidential election was split into two different events on one night due to having so many candidates. It’s going to happen again during next week’s debate, but the top-tier event will look a little different this time around. Donald Trump will still be at the lead podium, but now Carly Fiorina will be on the primetime debate as well.
According to CNN, Fiorina will join 10 other candidates in the CNN Reagan Library Debate taking place on Wednesday in Simi Valley.
A two-month window that closed on Thursday was used to determine eligibility for the event. Admittance was based on national polls averages. Results came from 14 polls and interviews that came from more than 6,000 potential and possible Republican primary voters.
Carly Fiorina will be joined by the other top 10 candidates in the debate which will begin at 8:00 p.m. The other five Republican candidates will appear in a debate taking place earlier in the day at 6:00 p.m.
Donald Trump’s average score was far and above all other candidates, as he finished with 23.929. His closest competitor was Jeb Bush with 11.500. Scott Walker (9.429) and Ben Carson (8.929) came in third and fourth to take the top four podiums.
For the earlier debate on Wednesday, Rick Perry led the pack with 1.814 and was followed by Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Geoprge Pataki, and Lindsey Graham.
Former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore is the only candidate who participated in the first debate in early August that didn’t meet the criteria to be in Wednesday’s debates.
The second debate could get interesting, since Donald Trump has recently come under fire for comments he recently made about Carly Fiorina. According to Fox News, Trump is once again being called upon to stop making “personal attacks.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Trump spoke about Fiorina and didn’t hold anything back. His comments extended to her looks and appearance.
“Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president. I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
Trump has since stated that he was talking about her persona, and responding to her because “she attacked [him].”
Even with the personal attacks and negative reports that have come forth about Donald Trump, his lead in the Republican Party has not lessened. He is holding strong, but things may change after next week’s debate which will have Carly Fiorina not too far from him.
[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
