Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina fall out of main GOP debate lineup, Paul won’t go for ‘undercard’ debate
Just days after attacking fellow GOP candidate Ted Cruz over his birth certificate, Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina find their support falling and the pair will not be on the main GOP debate stage this week in South Carolina.
On Monday, Fox Business Network, the host of the debate, announced on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” the qualifiers for the main stage and Paul and Fiorina did not make the cut.
The candidate lineup for the 9p ET@FoxBusiness#GOPDebate on Thursday, January 14th:pic.twitter.com/mKHykPBzdm
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 12, 2016
To qualify for the prime-time debate based on the network’s criteria, the candidates had to either have placed in the top six in national polls, based on an average of the five most recent national polls recognized by Fox News, or have placed within the top five based on the average of the five most recent state polls in Iowa or New Hampshire. Fox Business Network said that it used 17 polls to determine its final lineup.
Paul said in an interview with CNN that after being told he would not make the main debate, he informed the network that he would not participate in the undercard debate, reiterating a promise he had made last month.
“I’ll be taking my campaign directly to New Hampshire and Iowa,” the senator told CNN. “I’m not going to be in South Carolina.”
Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum were also left out of the prime time debate and were invited to the “under card” forum.
Reality TV star, real estate mogul Donald Trump, the leader in most recent polls, will again appear center stage in the debate, joined on stage by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.