Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky will be on the prime-time stage for the next Republican presidential debate on Dec. 15, sponsor CNN announced Sunday.
Donald Trump, who’s spent much of the primary race atop polls of the party’s crowded 2016 field, will again be at the center podium for the debate in Las Vegas. He’ll be flanked by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen.Ted Cruz of Texas.
Rounding out the nine slots for the main debate will be Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Florida Gov.Jeb Bush, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
For Christie, the session will be a return to the main event after failing to make the prime-time stage in a Nov. 10 Fox Business Network debate. The second-term governor of the Garden State has recently seen his poll numbers rise in crucial New Hampshire as he barnstorms the state with a series of town hall meetings and retail politicking.
Paul was in danger of being eliminated from the prime time debate, which will air Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The decision was reached after a Fox News poll released hours earlier showed Paul with 5 percent support in Iowa, the network said.
“In the light of new polling released this morning and in the spirit of being as inclusive as possible, CNN has decided to include Sen. Rand Paul in the prime-time debate,” the network said, citing a CNN spokeswoman it didn’t name.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former New York Gov. George Pataki will debate in an earlier forum set to air at 6:30 p.m. New York time, CNN said on its website.
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