The race is on between three Republican candidates for president to secure the final two spots in an upcoming debate.
A Politico report highlights the situation between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who are within 1.3 percentage points of each other
in the latest poll numbers from Real Clear Politics.
With so many Republican candidates in the race (17),
a debate next week hosted by Fox News will include just 10 candidates, chosen based on national poll numbers.
The Christie, Kasich, and Perry campaigns are now in overdrive as they try to secure a spot in the debate. The trio, according to Politico, has appeared on numerous national TV and radio programs this week, with more appearances scheduled over the next few days.
"No one has ever paid this much attention to the national polls this early on," one staffer from one of the three campaigns told Politico. "We've been very aggressive engaging with voters on the ground, but so many people paying attention to the polls now."
The conundrum the trio faces is having to fit debate prep time into a packed schedule of campaign appearances.
As of Friday, the Real Clear Politics national average — which may not jive with what Fox News uses for its debate entrance rules — shows that eight candidates seem to have debate spots wrapped up: businessman Donald Trump, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
The remaining two spots could go to all three of the aforementioned candidates that are on the bubble if they are close enough in the polls. Otherwise, the top two candidates of the trio will be invited to the Thursday event.
A source in one of the three campaigns told Politico, "Every single one of us wants more information. None of us are getting it."
The candidates left out of the debate will be invited to a
Fox News "candidate forum" that will take place Thursday afternoon.
Of the six national polls cited by Real Clear Politics, Trump leads each one. His stock has soared in recent weeks, although some experts don't think he'll last.