Sen. Rand Paul will be on the main stage at Tuesday’s GOP debate, ending days of speculation that his flagging campaign might not make the cut.
Gov. Chris Christie, who was relegated to the undercard debate of low-polling candidates last month, also made his way back into the prime-time debate, according to a lineup of candidates released by CNN Sunday.
CNN, which will host the final debate of 2015 Tuesday, will invite nine candidates to the primary debate and four candidates to the undercard debate earlier in the evening.
Paul and his vocal group of online supporters mounted a push in recent days to convince CNN to alter its rule barring from the stage candidates whose average poll numbers fall below national and Iowa and New Hampshire thresholds.
CNN appeared to buckle under the pressure. The station said it included Paul because by polling at 5% in a Fox News Iowa poll released Sunday, he was “showing viability.”
But Paul’s polling average remained below the required 4 percent in Iowa that CNN previously said qualified a candidate for the prime-time debate. CNN did not say explain why it relaxed the rule.
Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Gov. John Kasich, Christie, Carly Fiorina and Paul will compete on the main stage at 8:30 Tuesday evening.
At 6 p.m., Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Sen. Lindsey Graham and George Pataki will take the stage.
The prime-time debate is set for a showdown between Cruz and Trump after a spate of recent polls showed Cruz toppling Trump’s long-held lead in Iowa. Cruz also provoked Trump earlier this week by suggesting he did not have the “judgement” required of a president.
Paul earned a spot on the main stage after a Fox News poll made public Sunday showed the Kentucky senator gaining strength in Iowa, CNN said. Candidates could make the primetime debate by earning an average of at least 3.5 percent nationally, at least 4 percent in Iowa or at least 4 percent in New Hampshire. The polls CNN examined were conducted between Oct. 29 and Dec. 13.
