[nutjob2]

This is entirely meaningless at this point in the race. There may be some enthusiasts paying attention right now, and they're prone to focusing on particular candidates, but a more likely bet is that most primary voters are waiting to see how candidates perform with a view to backing the best candidate who has the best chance of winning.

[bryanlarsen]

To get into the debates, candidates need to either raise a bunch of money across a bunch of states, or poll above 1%

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/heres-how-were-defining...

[picodguyo]

Not entirely meaningless. News outlets will need to select who gets coverage and invitations to debates. Absent many other objective rationales, they'll lean on poll numbers to make those decisions.

[fjp]

They'll lean on whatever kind of coverage gets them the most money