On July 29, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore declared his intent to seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. It will be interesting to see if he is permitted into the August 6 “second-tier” Fox News debate. Earlier today Fox waived the requirement that the 2nd-tier debaters receive any particular poll showing. But Fox said candidates must have been included in polls.

Gilmore has been included in a few polls, but not most of them.

If Fox News admits Gilmore into the 2nd-tier debate, but continues to deny Mark Everson entry into that debate, Everson will have a strong legal case that he should be admitted also. He was the Internal Revenue Commissioner from 2003 to 2007 and has held other high-ranking government jobs. Everson has not been included in the polls, but he does have an active campaign with a campaign office in Iowa.

Fox News has scheduled two Republican presidential debates for August 6. The top ten debate each other in the evening. Others debate each other at 5 pm on the same day. Until July 29, the second-tier debaters had to be at 1% or more in national polls. Now the 1% poll requirement has been waived. This helps former New York Governor George Pataki, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, and Carly Fiorina. See this story.

The 2nd tier debate is still limited to candidates whom pollsters include, so effectively entry into the 2nd tier debate has now been turned over to the discretion of polling companies. That is not an objective standard, and anyone who is excluded has grounds for a lawsuit.

The Times Record of Fort Smith, Arkansas, has this commentary about the oral argument in Moore v Martin. That argument, held on July 27, concerns the federal lawsuit on early petition deadlines for non-presidential independent candidates.