Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina relegated to Fox Business Network's undercard GOP debate

Just seven of the Republican presidential candidates have been invited to participate in Fox Business Network's prime-time debate Thursday, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Carly Fiorina bumped down to the undercard debate.

Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) will take the stage during the main event at 9 p.m. ET. The roster for the 6 p.m. ET debate includes Paul, Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum. On CNN Monday, Paul, who appeared on the main stage during five previous debates, said it's likely he won't attend. "I won't participate in anything that's not first tier because we have a first tier campaign," he said.

Fox Business says when it came time to put together the lineups, the network took into consideration national polls and those based in Iowa and New Hampshire conducted and released prior to 6 p.m. ET Monday. The debates will take place at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, South Carolina.

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