Who’s in, who’s out: Selection day for the GOP presidential debate

As the top Republican presidential candidates take centre stage on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News channel to debate who is the best qualified to fight Hillary Clinton for the White House, the unpredictability of bomb throwing populist Donald Trump will nearly certainly be weighing on their minds. “As governor, I am glad to welcome my fellow debate participants to our great state and I look forward to discussing the issues facing our country with them on Thursday”.

The debate is in Cleveland this Thursday at 9 PM. And that means it could be more substantive and give new candidates a chance to rise ahead of the next debate.

Paperwork compiled by the FEC shows it failed to come within $1 million of that fundraising figure.

Who’s in: Trump will be flanked by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Kasich is a former Fox News contributor. Marco Rubio, Kentucky U.S. Sen. The Republican was the longest serving governor in Texas history.

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The remaining seven announced GOP candidates will be invited to participate in a separate forum earlier in the day. Or, will he play it safe and subtle in attempt to prove that Republicans he’s viable in the general election and can be trusted with the nuclear launch codes?

Mr. Trump spoke about the debates this Sunday on the ABC news show, “This Week”.

On Tuesday morning, Christie called Trump his friend, but declined to say whether he’d go after him if given an opportunity on Thursday. “Success might very well depend on how well you can distance yourself from Trump without getting into an ugly fight with him”.

Read: Was Chris Rock the Inspiration for Donald Trump’s McCain Comments?

That leaves Perry and the six other major declared candidates – Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Jim Gilmore – to appear together during a debate earlier Thursday evening.

The rest of the field remains in single-digits, with support for each candidate a bit more fluid, but the most recent five polls have been largely consistent in determining who will make the cut for the primetime debate will be. Voters nationwide are more inclined to prefer a candidate who uses their own personal wealth to fund their campaign (28 percent), rather than one who raises money through donations (13 percent).

These candidates are given the opportunity to make their very first impression on a national level, and when it comes to becoming president of the United States, having the attention on Donald Trump is not on their agenda. But the constraints carry consequences desperate to broaden its appeal. Rick Santorum, and Fiorina, former CEO of computer giant Hewlett-Packard. Candidates will get one minute to answer each question addressed to them by the moderators, according to two people familiar with the network’s plans. “Fiorina is smart and tough and someone the other candidates don’t want to debate”, Republican consultant Alex Castellanos said. “After all, no Republican has ever won the presidency without Ohio”, Kasich said in a statement following Fox’s announcement.

Christie celebrated his acceptance onto the main stage at a fund-raiser Tuesday night at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, as he rallied hundreds of supporters by railing against President Obama and pledging to “kick “hope and change” out” in 2016. The event will be broadcast on television as it happens.

“I will tell you, it’s three agencies of government when I get there that are gone”, Perry said.