Updated January 11, 3:40 p.m. ET: CNN has told TPM that Perry meets the criteria and is being invited to the debate — though it is not clear exactly which criteria he could be fulfilling.
A new question confronting Rick Perry’s campaign, as he attempts to make his final stand in the South Carolina primary on January 21: Will he even be allowed to take part in the CNN debate on January 19, two days before the big event?
According to the channel’s criteria for inclusion, a candidate must have placed at least 4th in either Iowa or New Hampshire, or get 7% support in at least three national Republican or three South Carolina primary polls released in January. The requirements were posted online last Tuesday afternoon, several hours before before the Iowa caucuses began later that night.
Perry meets none of those qualifications at time of writing.
Perry came in fifth place in Iowa, and sixth in New Hampshire. And currently, his national and South Carolina poll numbers do not show him meeting that threshold, either.
In only two national polls so far in January, from Reuters, and a Gallup tracking poll released January 2, is Perry at 7% support. He is not yet at 7% in any January poll from South Carolina.
This morning National Review reported:
Yesterday, Susan Page of USA Today wondered on Twitter whether Rick Perry would qualify for the CNN debate in Charleston, S.C. on January 19. From all appearances, he seemed ineligible, according to CNN rules. But Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan tells NRO in an email, “Yes, he is participating.”
We’ve contacted CNN and the Perry to try and get an answer, and will update this post when we hear back.
Correction: This post originally reported that Perry was at 7 percent in only one national poll, the Reuters Ipsos poll released Jan. 9. In fact, Perry was also at 7 percent in the Gallup tracking poll released Jan 2.
