Fiorina likely to make the cut for next GOP debate

The staff of The World and Everything in It has profiled 22 possible 2016 presidential candidates in its “White House Wednesday” series. Now they take a look at who’s ahead and who’s making moves as the primaries get closer.

Making the cut. After insisting it was too late to change its debate criteria, it looks like CNN has done exactly that. The change is good news for Carly Fiorina. Like Fox News, CNN planned to choose the top 10 GOP candidates to participate in its primetime debates. Instead of factoring in polls going back to July 16, which would have almost certainly excluded Fiorina, CNN announced any candidate ranking in the top 10 between Aug. 6 and Sept. 10 would get in.

Sanders surge. A fresh poll of Iowa voters by The Des Moines Register shows Hillary Clinton has fallen by 20 percentage points over the last few months and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is gaining ground. The poll of roughly 400 Iowa Democrats gives Clinton just a 7-point lead, 37 to 30 percent. Another recent poll suggests Clinton has problems in New Hampshire, as well. Public Policy Polling surveyed nearly 400 likely voters in that state and found Sandersin the lead, 42 to 35 percent. To the pundits who blame the tightening Democratic race on scandal in the Clinton camp, Sanders says that’s not it. “The gains that we are seeing and the enthusiasm and the huge crowds that we are seeing, this is not anti-Hillary Clinton. This is pro-Bernie Sanders and pro a message that says enough is enough. This country and our government belong to all of us,” Sanders said on ABC This Week. The news isn’t allbad for Hillary Clinton. Another Iowa poll has her with a still-commanding lead in there, and the most recent nationalpoll by Quinnipiac gives her a 23-point edge.

Trump strategy. Donald Trump is causing problems for the campaign of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Trump released a new web video featuring a snippet of remarks Bush made last year on the topic of illegal immigration. “Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony. It’s an act of love,” Bush said. He was talking about illegal immigrants who bring their families across the border to escape extreme poverty or violence in their native countries. But Trump’s ad set Bush’s words to mug shots of violent criminals who were in the country illegally. It concluded with the words, “Act of love? Forget love. It’s time to get tough.” Bush responded to the Trump attack yesterday: “That ad was a complete mischaracterization of my thinking. It’s almost like Donald Trump is acting like a Washington politician. That’s what they do.” Bush fired back with an ad of his own, titled “The Real Donald Trump.” It features past remarks by Trump advocating for tax hikes, identifying himself as a Democrat, and speaking fondly of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Presidential power rankings. WORLD’s Presidential Power Rankings are a snapshot of where the GOP presidential primary race stands right now. Polling is the biggest factor in the rankings, but they also include structural advantages such as fundraising and political talent.

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