Christie, Huckabee cut from main Fox debate stage

GOP debate on Oct. 28

The upcoming Fox Business Network presidential debate for the Republican primary candidates includes a couple of shocker announcements – namely, that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were relegated, by poll numbers, to the secondary stage.

The standard to appear on the main stage at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, event set for Tuesday was that candidates needed to hit at 2.5 percentage points in national polls. The undercard stage also includes Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

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"It doesn't matter the stage, give me a podium and I'll be there to talk about real issues," Christie said in a tweet.

TRENDING: Impeach!

The lineup on the main stage features Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, businessman Donald Trump, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Hewlett Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina and Sen. Rand Paul.

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Booted from both debate stages due to lack of poll numbers were former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore and Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Both Christie and Huckabee qualified for the main stage during the first three debates. The main event airs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. The undercard debate airs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.