Ever since Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976, long-shot major party presidential candidates have concentrated on campaigning very heavily, and very early, in the states with the earliest presidential primaries and caucuses. But this Politico story suggests that Fox News’ debate rules for the August 6, 2015 Republican presidential debate may change that strategy. Only the top ten Republicans will be invited into that debate, and their standing in national polls will determine who is invited.
Therefore, a rational Republican candidate for president at this point will be more interested in raising his or her standing in national polls of Republicans, rather than concentrating solely on New Hampshire and Iowa. At least, that is the thesis of the article, which is written by Eli Stokols, who was recently hired by Politico to report on the 2016 presidential race.
Fox should have the first five declared candidates:
Cruz, Paul, Rubio, Carson, Fiorina. That leaves out Bush!
Debate should be 60 minutes, with each candidate
getting 10 minutes each, and 10 minutes for questions.
CNN should have the next five declared candidates.
ALL 10 candidates would be better off paying for ads in National Review and The Weekly Standard.