Despite support from her fellow Republicans and the fact that she did better in Iowa than some of her counterparts, Carly Fiorina was not invited to participate in the ABC News Republican debate on Saturday.
The network said Fiorina did not meet its criteria — namely, she did not finish in the top three in the Iowa caucuses, and is not averaging in the top six in polls nationally and in New Hampshire. There won't be an undercard debate this time around, and Fiorina sent the Republican National Committee a letter asking that it "demand that media executives step aside and let voters hear from all of us." She received support from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, and even rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who said she "deserves to be there." Also in her corner is the 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, who tweeted that Fiorina did better in Iowa than New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and ABC would be wrong to "exclude" the "only woman" in the field.
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