First Republican Debate 2015: What to Expect

Updated Aug. 5: On Thursday, the nation's GOP candidates will square off in the nation's first Republican debate of 2015.

The event is slated for 9 p.m. ET on FOX News. It will feature the following top 10 candidates for the GOP nomination:

1. Donald Trump
2. Jeb Bush
3. Scott Walker
4. Ben Carson
5. Mike Huckabee
6. Ted Cruz
7. Rand Paul
8. Marco Rubio
9. Chris Christie
10. John Kasich

Here's what else we know about 2015's first Republican debate...

Setting the Stage for the First Republican Debate of 2015

• Seventeen presidential hopefuls threw their hat into the ring on the GOP side - but only the aforementioned top 10 will participate. Those not participating in the primetime debate are:

1. Rick Santorum
2. Bobby Jindal
3. Carly Fiorina
4. Lindsey Graham
5. George Pataki
6. Jim Gilmore
7. Rick Perry

• The results of five well-respected polls selected at the discretion of FOX News were used to determine which candidates made the cut. Those five polls were conducted by Bloomberg, CBS News, FOX News, Monmouth University, and Quinnipiac University.
• All but three of the 17 major GOP candidates participated in a pre-national debate "practice round" that took place in New Hampshire Monday night (Aug. 3). According to S. News that day, the candidates appeared on stage one at a time and addressed several controversial issues such as abortion, illegal immigration, and climate control.
• The seven bottom-tier candidates will have the opportunity to debate amongst each other on Thursday, but much earlier in the evening (5 p.m., FOX News) than the coveted prime time slot.

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