Third wave

Third GOP debate sets off wave of anxiety 

The prospect of a reduction in the number of candidates on stage is a life-or-death matter for some campaigns.

By Alex Isenstadt and Hadas Gold

The uncertain terms of the next Republican debate are setting off a wave of anxiety among middle and bottom tier campaigns, with several lashing out at the Republican National Committee for failing to provide clarity on how many candidates will appear on stage.

The campaigns fear the entry criteria for the Oct. 28 debate are being designed to reduce the number of candidates on stage for the third primetime debate — a life-or-death matter for White House hopefuls on the bubble.

While the RNC doesn’t set the rules, it does have a voice in working with the networks running the debates. The committee has not said how many candidates will be allowed into the primetime debate, which will be held in Boulder, Colorado, and broadcast on CNBC. Nor are there any indications there will be an undercard event, as there have been in the first two debate showdowns of the primary season.

“With the next debate a month away, it is maddening that the RNC has yet to provide any guidance to campaigns regarding the criteria that they and CNBC plan to use to exclude candidates,” said Curt Anderson, an adviser to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who appeared in both undercards. In the spin room after CNN recent debate, Jindal spokesperson Gail Gitcho said they already had plans to speak with CNBC in order to keep Jindal on the stage.

A senior adviser to another Republican candidate also expressed suspicion that the party was looking to winnow the field of candidates. “Insiders in Washington want to limit the debates because they want their two favorites, Bush and Rubio, to take on Donald Trump,” the adviser said. “They’re whispering in [RNC Chairman] Reince Priebus’s ear that, ‘The stage is too big, make it smaller.’”

The radio silence extends beyond the entry criteria to other aspects of the debate — such as who the moderators will be, and how long the duration will be.

"Campaigns simply want to know — what’s the criteria, and what’s the format." said Chris LaCivita, an adviser to Rand Paul.

Though the debate will be on NBC partner CNBC, Chuck Todd, NBC’s political director and the moderator of Meet the Press, is taking part in establishing the debate set up and criteria. And Todd has publicly expressed skepticism about the need to include 10 or 11 candidates, the numbers featured in the first two debates.

“Let’s just say the goal is to create a threshold that candidates have to meet to qualify for the stage rather than committing to putting 10 candidates on the stage. And I don’t think we should commit to more than 10-candidate debates. You have to be viable. So now we’re in debate three it’s time to show viability and only the viable ones survive,” Todd said during an interview on ESPN radio last week.

“You can do it a couple different ways. I don’t believe in setting a set number. I think maybe you come up with 'oh are you at 5 percent or more in Iowa or New Hampshire' you can create a sort of floor, no more 4-percenters get in, no more 3-percenters get in.”

While such a floor would clearly eliminate Jindal, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Pennsylania Sen. Rick Santorum, it could also threaten other candidates of lower standing, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The RNC held a conference call with the campaigns one week ago and, according to three participants on the call, was pressed about the specifics for the debate. Sean Spicer, the RNC’s chief strategist, said that he’d been in contact with CNBC and that there would be more information about criteria in two weeks — in other words, by the beginning of October. Another conference call with the campaigns is scheduled for Wednesday.

The day after the debate, during an interview on CNN, Spicer said that the next one would be unlikely to feature an undercard.

"I doubt there will be an undercard,” he said. “We’ve got to look and see where we are, it's six weeks from now … you start getting that undercard soon turns into an interview. We need to see where the race stands in a couple weeks and see what's best for candidates and the party."

In a statement Friday, Spicer would only say, “The RNC has taken historic steps to ensure that a record number of candidates have been able to participate in the primary debates including several that based on historical standards would have never been on stage.”

A CNBC spokesperson declined to give any details, saying, "We will announce additional details once we finalize them."

For the national party, there's no easy answer. At the same time underdog candidates are pressuring the party to allow them into the forum, some senior GOP figures are complaining that the first two debates have been too large and rambunctious and should be narrowed.

“The general feeling,” said Fred Malek, a prominent GOP donor who chairs the Republican Governors Association’s finance committee, “is that the large number detracts from the debate because it doesn’t allow the likeliest candidates an opportunity to present their views.”