Lowest-polling candidates cut from Republican debate

When the Republican presidential hopefuls take the stage in Milwaukee on Tuesday night for their fourth debate, two familiar faces will be missing from the prime time lineup – Mike Huckabee and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

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Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Gov. George Pataki failed to qualify for either debate, as their polling numbers fell below the minimum threshold, according to Fox Business.

The debates will air (and stream online) this Tuesday November 10 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET on Fox Business.

Being edged out of the main stage is a blow to a struggling campaign that had just begun gaining momentum following last week’s GOP debate in Colorado. They now will join Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen.

Undercard participants had to be polling above 1 percent in those same national polls to be allowed onstage. “We are sincerely disappointed in FOX Business and the Wall Street Journal’s decision to use the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll that only listed ten candidates as options rather than the full field”.

Christie dismissed the demotion in a post on Twitter, saying, “It doesn’t matter the stage, give me a podium and I’ll be there to talk about real issues”. Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, said he was “happy to debate anyone, anywhere, anytime”. Making the cut were real-estate developer and reality-TV celebrity Donald Trump, of New York; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, of Maryland; U.S. Sen.

Trump and Carson, who have been atop the polls, have led the Republican charge to change the formats for the debates. Marco Rubio came in third in the average of the four polls.

Christie had been on the main stage for the first three televised Republican debates.

Still, being in the second debate could help an outspoken candidate like Christie and is no death knell for his campaign, Murray said.

So far only one candidate has managed to climb out of the undercard debates, Fiorina, who spent the August Fox News debate at the kids’ table and was hoisted onto the mainstage by CNN, after the network tinkered with its rules.

Other campaigns complained that having two debates had relegated sitting governors to a rarely-watched undercard forum.