A day after he was informed he would not make Fox Business Network’s prime-time debate, Christie walked into the New Hampshire statehouse in Concord, paid the $1,000 filing fee and submitted the paperwork to appear on the ballot for the nation’s first primary on February 9.
Advertisement
To qualify for the main debate, Fox Business said a candidate needed to have an average of at least 2.5 percent support in the four most recent major polls. Ted Cruz; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Kentucky Sen. Similarly with Christie and Huckabee, the fact of the matter is that both of these candidates have only seen their numbers decline since the debate process started.
“I tell people, ‘Ignore the national polls and just follow those early states, ‘ ” said Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who argues that early opinion surveys are notoriously unreliable. “Iowa and New Hampshire, as you know, all of you know, will be the folks who decide how this field gets winnowed, not anybody in an office building in Manhattan”. Both debates will be hosted by Fox Business Network and The Wall Street Journal. Christie and Mike Huckabee have been relegated out of prime-time and onto the undercard at the November 10, GOP presidential debate. As for the undercard debate, Pataki, Graham, and Gilmore failed to make the cut because they failed to register even one percent support in any of those polls.
Since CNN’s September debate in Simi Valley, California, the junior varsity squad has had the same roster: Graham, Santorum, Jindal and Pataki. “Too bad I didn’t do a national one this week, eh Guv?”
The debates, scheduled for Tuesday night in Milwaukee, will allow the 12 candidates participating to express their views on topics ranging from regulation to tax reform and everything in between.
Chris Christie was courted by the likes of Henry Kissinger to enter the 2012 presidential race, was considered the 2016 GOP front runner before the “Bridgegate” scandal, and still registered at 11 percent in pre-Donald Trump polls early this year.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry provides a cautionary tale of the potential impact.
Candidates’ standing in various nation polls determined whether they were included in the main debate, the undercard, or not included at all.
Advertisement
Pataki called organizers’ reliance on the national polls a big disservice to voters across the country and a clear boost to worship of celebrity over ideas and accomplishments.
