FOX News Sets Field for First 2016 GOP Presidential Debate

Tuesday afternoon, FOX News officially announced the 10-candidate field for Thursday's Republican Presidential Debate in Cleveland.  It is the first debate in advance of the 2016 primary season.

The candidates, in order of polling, are: Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, and John Kasich.

According to FOX News the 10 candidates were determined by an average of the five most recent national polls. The five polls included in the average were: Bloomberg, CBS News, Fox News, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, praised the group of 17 candidates for the presidential nomination.

"Our field is the biggest and most diverse of any party in history and I am glad to see that every one of those extremely qualified candidates will have the opportunity to participate on Thursday evening," he said. "Republicans across the country will be able to choose which candidate has earned their support after hearing them talk through the issues."