Republican primary voters will get more insight this week into the presidential candidates vying for their party’s nomination as the contenders prepare to square off in the first primary debate. And with the rise of Donald Trump and the drama his surge has provoked, the first debate is arguably the most anticipated 2016 election event to date. The first GOP primary debate will take place Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Fox News, is co-hosted by Facebook and will feature the top 10 leading candidates for the GOP nomination.
As per the reports here, Bobby Jindal will not be appearing in the first Republican primary debate, which is limited only to those who are in the top ten. The debate, conducted by Fox News, will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, Aug. 6. The first ever Indian American vying to be on the ballot to be the next American President , Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is now ranked 13th in a crowded race of Republican presidential aspirants, according to the latest national poll July 31.
Fox News has decided to limit participation in its two-hour debate to the candidates ranking in the top 10 in an average of recent national polls. That will relegate seven candidates to the one-hour, junior-varsity debate with consequences to their image and standing that are difficult to predict but could be substantial. Jindal is nearly certain to miss the cut for the prime-time event, based on recent national polls. His campaign has minimized the importance of the debates, instead stressing the importance of the early states.
Jindal, 44, also the first-ever Indian American governor, has just two percent of Republican votes, compared to his top-ranking Republican opponent Donald Trump with 20 percent of votes, according to the poll. With 20 percent of Republican voters supporting him, Trump is the clear leader in the Republican presidential primary field, but he trails behind three leading Democratic contenders by wide margins in the general election match-ups, according to the Quinnipiac University national poll.
Behind Trump are Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker with 13 percent of votes and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush with 10 percent. No other Republican tops six percent, and 12 percent are undecided. Trump also tops the “no way” list, as 30 percent of Republican voters say they would definitely not support him. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is next at 15 percent, with Bush at 14 percent.
Jindal played familiar rhetorical notes in his appearance Monday, August 3rd, in a nationally televised forum featuring most of the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential candidates, who produced few if any surprises or shocks. “I’m so tired of this president and the left trying to divide us,” said Jindal, 44. “We’re all Americans. We’re not hyphenated Americans.”
“This is the most important election of our lifetimes,” Jindal said in his wrap-up. “This is about the future of America, getting off the path to socialism,” said Jindal, the Baton Rouge-born child of immigrants from India, who has consistently shunned a tag as an Indian-American and has praised assimilation in the proverbial melting pot.
“This president is trying to turn the American dream into the European nightmare,” he said, repeating another of his favorite phrases. Jindal earlier had touted his record in cutting the state budget in Louisiana, slashing the government workforce and creating private sector jobs. “We need a doer, not a talker,” he said in his valedictory. “We can’t afford four more years of on-the-job training.” And, he assured the audience, he has the “bandwidth” and “backbone” to get the job done. “We’ve had seven years of a great talker,” he said. “Let’s elect a doer. “Let us believe in America again.”
Among the Democratic hopefuls for the nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is supported by 55 percent of Democratic voters nationwide, with 17 percent for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and 13 percent for Vice President Joe Biden. No other Democratic candidate tops one percent, while 11 percent are undecided.