Trying to better manage their party's bid for the White House, Republican Party leaders set out plans for a series of GOP candidate debates, starting in August of 2015 in Ohio, the state where the GOP will hold its nominating convention in 2016.
"By constructing and instituting a sound debate process, it will allow candidates to bring their ideas and vision to Americans in a timely and efficient way," said GOP chairman Reince Priebus, who had pushed hard to make sure the Republican Party - not various news organizations - controlled his party's planning.
"This schedule ensures we will have a robust discussion among our candidates while also allowing the candidates to focus their time engaging with Republican voters," Priebus said in a statement.
The exact dates and locations have not been finalized as yet; here is the basic list issued by the GOP:
August 2015 - Debate #1 in Ohio, sponsored by Fox News
September 2015 - #2 in California, sponsored by CNN
October 2015 - #3 in Colorado, sponsored by CNBC
November 2015 - #4 in Wisconsin, sponsored by Fox Business
December 2015 - #5 in Nevada, sponsored by CNN
January 2016 - #6 in Iowa, sponsored by Fox News
February 2016 - #7 in New Hampshire, sponsored by ABC News
February 2016 - #8 in South Carolina, sponsored by CBS News
February 2016 - #9 in Florida, sponsored by NBC/Telemundo
GOP officials also say Fox News and CNN will host debates in March 2016 in locations still to be determined.
There will also be a "Conservative Media Debate" included at some point as well.
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