WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three newspapers will hold a forum for U.S. Republican presidential candidates before the first official debate, saying they disagreed with the decision to restrict that event to the top 10 candidates, the New Hampshire Union Leader and two other papers said on Wednesday.
The first Republican debate, hosted by Fox News and approved by the Republican National Committee, is set for Aug. 6 in Cleveland. Fox said it would use an average of the five latest national polls to determine who participates.
So far, 15 Republicans have announced they are seeking the party's nomination for president in the November 2016 election.
New Hampshire Republicans and some candidates criticized Fox's plans, saying keeping contenders off the debate stage could hurt their chances months before any state holds a presidential nominating contest.
In response, the New Hampshire paper; the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina; and the Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said they would hold a wider forum on Aug. 3 in New Hampshire. It will be broadcast nationally on C-SPAN.
Invitations have been extended to all of the Republican candidates, the Charleston paper said. All three states hold early contests in the long process to pick the party's nominee.
"The first votes are half a year away, and there are a lot more than 10 viable candidates," the papers' publishers said in a statement.
"If networks and national polls are to decide this now, the early state process is in jeopardy, and only big money and big names will compete," they said.
Fox has said it will hold a 90-minute forum before its debate for those candidates outside the top 10 who earned at least 1 percent in an average recent national polls.