Rand Paul is polling at barely 3 percent nationally, but the Kentucky senator says he’ll be one of six Republicans hopefuls on the main stage for the first GOP primary debate of the new year.
Paul, who’s seventh in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, previously said he would skip the Jan. 14 event entirely if he ends up being relegated to the undercard debate for candidates who fail to qualify for the main stage.
But during an appearance Wednesday on Fox News, Paul appeared at ease with his position in the GOP field ahead of the sixth debate.
“The good news is, it looks like we’re actually making the criteria,” he said, referring to Fox Business Network’s decision to limit the upcoming debate to the top six candidates in national polls and who place in the top five in state-level polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“There was a poll out this week that had me in fifth place, only one point out of fourth place,” he added.
Chip Englander, Paul’s campaign manager, pointed out that under the current criteria, Paul “would have made the main stage in [the] last debate.”
“He has been fifth and sixth in several recent polls, so we are confident he will make the main stage,” Englander told the Washington Examiner.
Paul also noted Wednesday that he is more concerned about the fairness of limiting the debates to an even fewer number of participants.
“What kind of message do you think it tells the public that basically the media gets to choose who the candidates are that will be considered?” Paul said, suggesting that lower-tier candidates like Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina should remain eligible for the prime-time debate.
Paul will return to the campaign trail, after a brief pause over the holidays, beginning Saturday with a three-day swing through New Hampshire.
