New Hampshire officials surprised by CNN debate announcement

Officials in New Hampshire were caught off guard by an announcement from CNN this week that it plans to hold a Republican presidential primary debate in the state next month.

“We were surprised to be included on a press release by a network about a debate which we had not planned or booked,” Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College wrote in a social media post Friday. “Such a debate announcement breached the [Republican National Committee] RNC debate rules. We have and will continue to work with the Republican Party on debates.”

CNN said Thursday the network is planning to hold two debates next month, the first Jan. 10 in Des Moines, Iowa, and another Jan. 21 in New Hampshire.

Chris Ager, the chairman of New Hampshire’s Republican Party told The New York Times that CNN’s announcement left him “scratching my head” and said he hasn’t been contacted by the network at all.

“For a big, professional organization like that, putting out a location on this date and the location doesn’t know — something’s not quite right,” he told the Times.

In a statement to The Hill, CNN said it was planning to go ahead with its New Hampshire debate.

“We can’t speak to any miscommunication within Saint Anselm, but we are moving forward with our plans to host a debate in New Hampshire on January 21,” the network said.

Hours after CNN announced its pair of debates, which do not appear to be officially sanctioned by the RNC, ABC said it would host a debate of its own Jan. 18 in partnership with the committee.