Fiorina rips RNC

Fiorina rips 'broken' RNC debate process

By Nolan D. McCaskill

Carly Fiorina is calling on the Republican National Committee to fix its “broken” debate process in a plea to participate in the next debate.

“Our debate process is broken,” Fiorina wrote in a post to the RNC on Medium on Wednesday. “Networks are making up these debate rules as they go along — not to be able to fit candidates on the stage — but arbitrarily to decide which candidates make for the best TV in their opinion. Now it is time for the RNC to act in the best interest of the Party that it represents.”

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO is at risk of missing the ABC News debate Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire. The network will not hold an undercard debate for the bottom tier of the winnowing field, and qualifications for the main debate stage include ranking top three in the Iowa caucuses, top six in New Hampshire polls or top six nationally.

Fiorina finished seventh in Iowa with less than 2 percent support and isn’t among the top six in New Hampshire or nationally. According to POLITICO’s calculations, she is running in ninth place nationally with 2.3 percent (eighth place if Mike Huckabee, who ended his campaign Monday night is excluded), and in eighth place in New Hampshire with 3.8 percent (seventh if Rand Paul is removed).

Fiorina notes that in 2012 there were eight candidates on the main stage until the Iowa caucuses, and all remaining candidates from that point were invited to debate. She also pointed the caucus results in which she beat Chris Christie and John Kasich and garnered the same number of delegates as Jeb Bush.

“We’re ahead of Dr. Carson in New Hampshire polling,” she continued. “We are 6th in hard dollars raised and have twice the cash on hand as either Governors Christie or Kasich. We are already on the ballot in 32 states, and there is a ground game with paid staff in 12 states. Yet, all of these candidates will be invited to the ABC debate. I will not.”

“It’s time for the RNC to demand that media executives step aside and let voters hear from all of us,” Fiorina concludes. “I trust you will act appropriately.”