“The first 10 candidates – ranked from highest to lowest in polling order from an average of all qualifying polls released between July 16 and September 10 who satisfy the criteria requirements … will be invited to participate in ‘Segment B’ of the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate,” the network states in its candidate criteria. “Candidates who satisfy the criteria and achieve an average of at least 1 percent in three national polls, but are not ranked in the top 10 of polling order will be invited to participate in ‘Segment A’ of the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate.”

The network also stipulated that “if the number of candidates who qualify for the debate is 14 or fewer, CNN reserves the right to limit the number of participants in ‘Segment B’ to eight candidates. The remaining qualified candidates will be invited to participate in ‘Segment A’ of the debate.”