As the next GOP debate is set to take place on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Fox Business has yet to release details in regards to how they will determine the lineup for the primetime debate, leaving uncertainty amongst candidate Chris Christie who fears being bumped to the undercard stage,
Politico reports.
Previously stated, the criteria for the Fox Business Network/Wall Street Journal debate is as follows:
"Candidates who score 2.5 percent or higher in an average of the four most recent national polls conducted through Nov. 4 will be invited to the main debate stage. To qualify for the undercard debate stage, candidates must score at least 1 percent in one of four most recent national polls conducted through Nov. 4, as recognized by Fox Business."
A new Fox News poll released late Wednesday puts the New Jersey governor at 2 percent, likely pushing him to what has been referred to as the "happy hour" debate.
However, confusion sets in since the networks have not yet shared which polls will be used to determine the lineup.
Though the criteria notes that they will be using the four most recent polls, they also noted the polls "must be conducted by major, nationally-recognized organizations that use standard methodological techniques (i.e., live interviewers, random digit-dial sampling techniques and include both landlines and cell phones)."
Depending on which polls will be used, will determine the fate of not only Christie, but also Gov. Bobby Jindal and George Pataki, who could be left out of the debate all together.
According to Politico, the four most recent and eligible polls include Fox News, Quinnipiac University, NBC News/Wall Street Journal and CBS News/New York Times, which would place Christie with an average of 2.25 percent and less than zero percent for Jindal and Pataki.
Politico notes that Fox Business will announce who has made the debate stages Thursday at 7 p.m. on Lou Dobbs' show.
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