COLUMBIA – Ten Republican presidential candidates will be invited to participate in a nationally televised debate being sponsored by the South Carolina Republican Party in two weeks.

Chicago investment adviser John Cox will not be invited because he did not obtain high enough poll results as required by the party and Fox News Channel.

The criteria set by the state GOP and media outlet to participate in the May 15 debate required candidates to garner at least a 1 percent showing in a state and a national poll, and Cox did not, state GOP Chairman Katon Dawson said Wednesday.

“We’ve tried to be as inclusive as we can,” Dawson said.

He said he would have preferred a higher polling threshold of 3 percent, which would have cut four or five from the list of those being asked to appear.

Cox’s campaign did not immediately respond to a message left at its headquarters. The candidate also is not slated to take part in the first Republican debate Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. The first Democratic debate was held last week in Orangeburg.

Dawson said invitations to the debate are to be sent Thursday to: U.S. Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Sam Brownback of Kansas; U.S. Reps. Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado, former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Jim Gilmore of Virginia and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

You must be logged in to comment.