The GOP debates explained

By Kaye Foley

Ahead of the first Republican primary debate this week, the number of GOP presidential hopefuls is at an astounding 17. It’s the most crowded Republican primary field ever. As a result, there’s been a lot of debate over the primary debates themselves. That’s because with that many candidates onstage, it would mean very limited talking time per person. And it’s up to the networks to figure out how to handle it.

For the first two debates, Fox News and CNN have come up with strategies for condensing the number of participants. Fox News’ debate will take place on Aug. 6 in Cleveland, Ohio, and will take only the top 10 GOP candidates according to their rankings from an average of the latest five national polls. Just 52 hours before the debate, at 5 p.m. on Aug. 4, Fox will take a look at those polls and announce which candidates will have a spot at the podium.

There’s been some backlash over the criteria. Many campaigns see the primary debates, especially the first one, as essential to introducing their candidate to the public. And as it’s so early in the political season, a lot of the polls are fluid. A candidate like Lindsey Graham, a senator with 20 years of experience, or John Kasich, governor of the state where the debate is happening, might not make it to the main stage.

For those who will be left out, Fox News is hosting a forum a few hours before the official debate.

The second debate is scheduled for Sept. 16 and will be hosted by CNN. That time around, the top 10 candidates will grab a spot based on an average of qualifying national polls that will be released between July 16 and Sept. 10. A secondary CNN debate will be held for those candidates who don’t make the cut.

This primary season, at least nine televised debates have been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee. So as the race to the White House gets rolling with the GOP debates, at least after watching this video you can say, “Now I get it.”