Republican presidential campaigns are planning to gather in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening to plot how to alter their party’s messy debate process — and how to remove power from the hands of the Republican National Committee. Not invited to the meeting: Anyone from the RNC, which many candidates have openly criticized in the hours since Wednesday’s CNBC debate in Boulder, Colorado — a chaotic, disorganized affair that was widely panned by political observers. Sources with knowledge of the meeting said the plan came about after a discussion between representatives from the Ben Carson and Bobby Jindal campaigns, who then brought in aides to Donald Trump and Lindsay Graham. As of Thursday night, representatives from the Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Rick Santorum campaigns are also expected to attend the meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sunday. Earlier on Thursday, Carson had told reporters that he would be demanding a new debate format and was reaching out to the other Republican candidates in an attempt to force changes in the next debate. “It’s not about me and gotcha questions. ‎"We need a change of format," Carson said during a press conference in Lakewood, Colorado. Wednesday night's two-hour long debate -- moderated by CNBC's Carl Quintanilla, John Harwood and Becky Quick -- was widely panned by Republican candidates and the RNC, all of whom complained about biased and shallow questions.
– Republican candidates aren't just ticked off about how the debates are being presented, they're planning what Politico refers to as a "revolt" against the networks—and the Republican National Committee. Representatives from most of the campaigns plan to meet Sunday evening to plot strategy on how to gain control of the format. The initiative is spearheaded by the Trump, Carson, Jindal, and Graham campaigns, but representatives from the Rubio, Fiorina, Huckabee, Paul, and Santorum campaigns are on board and plan to attend the meeting, according to Politico. CNN confirms the development, adding that the Bush campaign is a maybe. ‎"We need a change of format," Carson said Thursday. "Debates are supposed to be to get to know the candidates, what is behind them. What it has turned into is a gotcha." In addition to the leading candidates' concerns about format, the Jindal and Graham campaigns are reportedly upset that the networks—with the blessing of the RNC—have been allowed to dictate who gets to share the main stage, relegating them to undercard status. “I think the campaigns have a number of concerns and they have a right to talk about that amongst themselves,” says Graham's campaign manager. The idea is to “find out what works best for us as a group.”