Fox News Releases Debate Guidelines To Republican Candidates

Republican presidential candidates should not plan to show up to the debate hosted by Fox News on Aug. 6 with a big entourage. The strict guidelines the channel has made available to the 16 presidential campaigns will limit the number of personnel who can be on hand.

The memo, which was obtained by the New York Times, states that each campaign will receive only 10 credentials, including for the candidate, for entry to the backstage holding room and 15 for the spin room. And each campaign is limited to just one vehicle allowed into Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, where the debate will take place.

To qualify for the debate, all candidates must have filed appropriate FEC paperwork and paid all necessary filing fees. Each of the contenders must also be in the top 10 in an average of the "five most recent national polls as recognized by Fox News” by Aug. 4 at 5 p.m. EST. Each candidate will be placed with a Fox News producer for their stay in Cleveland, reports the New York Times. The memo also states that the Facebook questions submitted during the debate will be screened by the Fox News team.

If the current Fox polls are any indication, the top 10 contenders could be real estate mogul Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Texas governor Rick Perry, according to a New York Times analysis Tuesday. But former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are a fraction of a point behind Perry.

With two weeks until the debate, lower tier candidates may amp up spending to gain more name recognition and to place higher in the polls, reports NPR.

Aired on the network, the debate will be moderated Fox News hosts Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace.