A recent surge in the polls may not be enough for Carly Fiorina to earn an invite to the second Republican presidential debate, scheduled for September 16 on CNN.
Fiorina and another GOP candidate, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson,
have seen their poll numbers rise in recent weeks. CNN's methodology for inviting the top 10 candidates in the race, however, may leave Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett Packard, off the main debate stage.
According to The Hill, CNN will look at polls dated from July 16 to September 10 as it determines which 10 candidates will take part in the debate. Those earlier polls could hurt Fiorina's chances.
"It acts as sort of an anchor on those people who had done poorly early and a bit of a parachute for those people who have done well early," Rutgers University political scientist Cliff Zukin told The Hill.
Support for Fiorina in national polls has risen from about 1 percent to more than 5 percent, with
Real Clear Politics calculating her current average at 6.3 percent — which puts her in the top 10.
The Hill calculates that the CNN debate could feature the same 10 candidates as the Fox News one did two weeks ago.
"Carly's name ID is obviously very low, but one thing that we are seeing even from the very beginning is that the more people learn about Carly, the more people want her in the debates and the more people want her as their commander in chief," Katie Hughes, the communications director for the CARLY for America super PAC, told The Hill.
Fiorina took part in the GOP's "happy hour" debate ahead of the Fox News debate and
received strong reviews for her performance.
On Wednesday,
former Rep. Nan Hayworth told Newsmax TV Fiorina has what it takes to become the GOP's presidential nominee next year.
"She is smart, she is articulate, she is genuinely accomplished, she is credible," Hayworth said.
"She can compete successfully for all the right reasons with any other candidate in the Republican field because Carly Fiorina does have positive and great ideas that truly will transform our country and our government."
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