All-but-forgotten GOP presidential candidate Bobby Jindal might skip the next debate

Donald Trump isn't the only Republican presidential candidate who has threatened to skip the next debate. Now, after the Powers That Be caved to Trump's demands, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says he might skip the second-tier debate in Colorado next week if the Republican National Committee and host CNBC don't change the selection criteria for the primetime debate. Right now, the 10 primetime players are chosen based on an "average of national surveys," The Washington Examiner reports. Jindal wants the criteria to also count polling of individual early-state primaries.

It's easy enough to see why Jindal wants this change. The Real Clear Politics average of national GOP polls puts Jindal in 12th place, with a woeful 0.4 percent support. Narrow it down to Iowa, however, and Jindal jumps to eighth place, with a much less embarrassing 4 percent.

And if the RNC and CNBC don't cave into Jindal's demands the way they caved into Trump's demand for a shorter debate? The Louisiana governor says he might just go to Iowa and campaign there instead of debating.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up