Ohio Gov. John Kasich makes cut for second GOP presidential debate

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump (R) and Scott Walker in the first presidential debate hosted by Fox News in August.

Former Hewlett Packett CEO Carly Fiorina will appear alongside 10 other GOP presidential candidates who met the criteria to appear at CNN’s primetime Republican presidential debate on September 16. “Would anyone vote for that?”

But a bump in the polls and an aggressive lobbying effort persuaded CNN to broaden its participation criteria, a coup for Fiorina and Republican officials eager to feature the party’s only 2016 female candidate in the nationally televised clash.

The lower-tier debate of candidates trailing in the polls will involve South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, former Texas Governor Rick Perry and former New York Governor George Pataki. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore didn’t meet polling standards to even be included in the lower-tier debate.

In a GOP campaign defined thus far by Trump’s incendiary rhetoric on illegal immigration and his ascent to the top of the polls, next week’s event could offer prominent candidates like Bush, Rubio, and Kasich a chance to gain momentum, said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton.

Fiorina is a new addition to the main stage after CNN changed the debate qualification rules. Trump claimed this morning he was talking about her persona. After Carson questioned Trump’s faith, the wealthy businessman shot back harder, saying it was Carson who was “not a big man of faith” and that the famed neurosurgeon who was the first to successfully separate conjoined twins was just an “OK doctor”.

As he has for several weeks, Bush hit Trump for running a campaign based on “anger” and one that lacks policy specifics.

There have been reports that candidates are expected to be more assertive this time around, as billionaire candidate Trump continues to dominate the race.

That put organisers for the second debate, hosted by CNN, in a hard position. With Fiorina’s promotion to the primetime event, there will only be five candidates to face-off.

The post-debate polls were also used to determine the order that the candidates would appear on stage. They have to find a way to elevate themselves, and without the legitimacy that the main debate stage provides, that will be hard.