BOULDER, CO – OCTOBER 28: Presidential candidates Ohio Governor John Kasich (L-R), Mike Huckabee, Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz (R-TX), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) take the stage at the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at University of Colorados Coors Events Center October 28, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. Fourteen Republican presidential candidates are participating in the third set of Republican presidential debates. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
FOX Business Network announced the participants in the next two Republican debates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and the stage has thinned.
Govs. Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee have been relegated to the undercard debate at 7 p.m. ET, while Govs. George Pataki and Jim Gilmore have been completely eliminated from the stage, altogether. The final senator, Lindsey Graham, has also been removed from the stage.
“It doesn’t matter the stage, give me a podium and I’ll be there to talk about real issues like this,” Christie Tweeted, along with a link to a video showing him talking about tackling the problem of drug addiction.
It doesn’t matter the stage, give me a podium and I’ll be there to talk about real issues like this: https://t.co/Fqu5Qi2piX #BringItOn
— Chris Christie (@ChrisChristie) November 6, 2015
“I’m happy to debate anyone, anywhere, anytime,” Huckabee first tweeted. But then he followed it up with taking a shot at the pundits and the polls, neither of which have been very predictive this cycle.
We are months away from actual votes being cast and neither the pundits nor the press will decide this election, the people will.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 6, 2015
The participants in the first debate, at 7 p.m. ET will be: Gov. Chris Christie, Fmr. Gov. Mike Huckabee, Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum, and Gov. Bobby Jindal. The participants in the prime-time debate at 9 p.m. ET will be: Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, Fmr. Gov. Jeb Bush, Fmr. HP CEO Carly Fiorina, and Sen. Rand Paul.
