The next Republican presidential debate, hosted by Fox Business Network on Jan. 14 in North Charleston, South Carolina, will continue to follow the two-debate format—but only six candidates are likely to be invited to the main event.
According to criteria announced late Tuesday, the network’s primetime debate will include candidates who place in the top six of the five most recent national polls, or who place in the top five in Iowa or New Hampshire based on an average of the five most recent state polls, published before Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. ET.
All other candidates will be invited to the undercard debate, as long as they register at least 1 percent in at least one of the five most recent national polls.
This criteria would likely mean Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), retired neurologist Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would be on the main stage, according to an analysis from Politico.