Conservative talker added to Republican debate panel

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt will participate in the question and answer portion of a Republican presidential primary debate on CNN in September, the network said Tuesday.

{mosads}The debate is one of three that the network will host in collaboration with the Salem Media Group, a division of the conservative media company Salem Communications.

“I’m thrilled that Salem will partner with three of our Republican primary debates that will be aired on CNN,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. “When we set out to improve the debates, I promised conservative media would be part of the process.”

Hewitt is a popular syndicated radio host who regularly interviews Republican Party figures.

“These debates come at a critical time, and good questions will allow Republican primary voters the opportunity to see and hear their would-be nominees provide answers to issues that genuinely concern them,” he said in a statement.

Priebus and the party are making an attempt this year to limit the number of primary debates. They believe the large number of debates in 2012 ultimately hurt Mitt Romney when he became the nominee.

“It became a 23-debate traveling circus,” Priebus said this month. “We’re not going to have any more than nine debates.”

The RNC in January announced nine debates, with the last one scheduled to be held in February 2016. Three more were said to be “pending.”

Hewitt’s inclusion also underscores the party’s need to satisfy its conservative base. Earlier this year, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), a conservative who is considering a run for president, said that limiting the debate schedule was an attempt to hurt the right wing of the party.