WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The three frontrunners will be joined by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee who came in a surprisingly strong fourth, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and then Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.
Two current US state governors, Chris Christie of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio, scraped in after successful appearances on Monday night in a non-debate forum of 14 candidates nationally broadcast from Manchester, New Hampshire.
The decision on which ten candidates to choose in the crowded Republican field was based on an average of five polls conducted by Bloomberg, CBS News, Fox News, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University most recent national polls.
Bush, originally expected to be a shoo-in leader, is struggling for second place with Walker.
All the other candidates are far behind and have been unable to improve their support beyond single digit figures in the polls.
The results were a blow for the most hawkish of the candidates.
Senator Lindsay Graham, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum all promised aggressive confrontational policies towards Russia, China and Iran as well as vowing to crush the Islamic State.
Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, the two remaining outspoken hawks, especially against the Iran nuclear deal, trail far behind the leaders in the Republican field.
The debate will be run by Fox News and Facebook in conjunction with the Ohio Republican Party, and will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Fox said.
