New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are the first casualties of the winnowing GOP presidential debate field, as Fox Business Network announced Thursday night that they both officially missed the cut for next week’s contest. 
 
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 Christie and Huckabee are the only two candidates who had previously appeared on the main debate stage to get cut by the network, which set a threshold of 2.5 percent in four major polls for the top contest. They’ll instead participate in the undercard debate, a demotion that could serve as a major blow for their campaigns. 
 
 The writing was on the wall for Christie by Wednesday night, when he received 2 percent of the vote in Fox News’s latest poll. Poll watchers noted that Christie’s stagnant numbers in a handful of recent surveys, including the Fox one, made it increasingly unlikely that he’d be able to stay above that threshold. 
 
 Because Fox Business did not release which polls it would use in advance, Christie's fate remained in limbo until the network announced the lineup on “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” 
 
 Most pundits had considered Huckabee, who received 4 percent support in the Fox News poll, in a safer spot. He is a former Fox News host who won the 2008 GOP Iowa caucuses and finished second behind Sen. John McCainJohn Sidney McCainThe Memo: GOP fears damage from Trump’s move on DACA Rescue efforts underway after F-16 crashes in Arizona McCain, Whitehouse urge SCOTUS to affirm Wisconsin gerrymandering decision MORE (R-Ariz.) for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. 
 
 Both Christie and Huckabee barely missed the mark, finishing with 2.25 percent in the four polls considered — those conducted by Fox News, NBC/Wall Street Journal, Quinnipiac University and Investor's Business Daily. If either candidate scored just 1 percentage point higher in any of those polls, they would have made it onto the debate stage. 
 
 Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulPaul calls for bipartisan DACA solution This week: Harvey aid at top of long to-do list as Congress returns Trump, Congress face packed September agenda MORE (R-Ky.) just made it in with an average of exactly 2.5 percent. 
 
 Just an hour before Fox Business was scheduled to announce the lineup, Christie’s campaign announced that he would be on Fox News’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren,” presumably to push back against the fears that the debate snub would hurt his presidential bid. 
 
 Despite missing out on the main stage, Christie had received praise in recent weeks for his late-October debate performance as well as deeply personal remarks on drug addiction captured by The Huffington Post. 
 
 Christie tweeted just moments after the announcement with a reference to that Huffington Post video. 
 
 It doesn’t matter the stage, give me a podium and I’ll be there to talk about real issues like this: https://t.co/Fqu5Qi2piX #BringItOn — Chris Christie (@ChrisChristie) November 6, 2015 
 
 Huckabee was also defiant in the face of Fox’s decision. 
 
 “I’m happy to debate anyone, anywhere, anytime,” he said on Twitter. “We are months away from actual votes being cast and neither the pundits nor the press will decide this election, the people will.” 
 
 The main debate stage will include the eight remaining Republican candidates who participated in last month's CNBC debate: Real estate mogul Donald Trump Donald John TrumpSean Spicer to speak at gas industry conference Ex-World Bank president: Congress must crack down on Trump’s trade policies Hillary Clinton to sit down with CBS's Jane Pauley on Sunday MORE, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioRubio: Trump should 'clearly outline' what he wants on DACA Trump issues Florida emergency declaration ahead of Hurricane Irma East Coast watching for chance of Hurricane Irma MORE (Fla.) Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzNorth Korea fears demand attention despite domestic concerns Cruz: N. Korean test 'serious escalation' of its ability to commit mass murder Sunday shows preview: Trump faces aftermath of Harvey MORE (Texas), former CEO Carly Fiorina, former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.), Gov. John Kasich (Ohio) and Paul. 
 
 Huckabee and Christie will join Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) in the undercard debate. Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamWeek ahead: Congress returns to take up bipartisan health care effort DACA debate turns toward Congress as Trump readies decision Graham backs Trump ending DACA with 6-month delay MORE (S.C.) and former New York Gov. George Pataki missed qualifying for the undercard because they failed to poll at one percent in any of those four polls. 
 
 Neither Graham nor Pataki received any support in three of the polls. The fourth poll, NBC/WSJ, did not initially include the names of any of the candidates who had previously appeared in the undercard. Their names were only included if a respondent declined to support any of the top-tier candidates. ||||| Play Facebook 
 
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 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will not be on the main debate stage when Republican presidential candidates square off for their fourth debate next week. 
 
 Fox Business Network announced Thursday that Christie, who has made the main stage at the previous three debates, will be in the undercard debate for the low-polling candidates. It is a blow to the Garden State governor who has seen a slight uptick in the polls after a strong performance at the CNBC debate last month. 
 
 PHOTOS - On the Stump: Chris Christie's Presidential Campaign 
 
 Earlier in the day, Christie told NBC’s Hallie Jackson, “either way, I'll be in Milwaukee Tuesday night debating the big issues of our country, putting my voice onto those issues and that’s what really matters the most. But would I pick it? No of course not." 
 
 It doesn’t matter the stage, give me a podium and I’ll be there to talk about real issues like this: https://t.co/Fqu5Qi2piX #BringItOn — Chris Christie (@ChrisChristie) November 6, 2015 
 
 Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul made the final slot in the primetime debate. 
 
 Debate host Fox Business Network announced candidates must have a polling average of at least 2.5 percent in the four most recent polls. To make the earlier debate, candidates must average at least 1 percent in one of the four most recent polls. 
 
 Republicans Lindsey Graham, George Pataki and Jim Gilmore did not make the cut. 
 
 On the main stage of the Fox Business Network debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will be: 
 
 Donald Trump 
 
 Ben Carson 
 
 Marco Rubio 
 
 Ted Cruz 
 
 Jeb Bush 
 
 Carly Fiorina 
 
 John Kasich 
 
 Rand Paul 
 
 In the earlier debate will be:
– There's another GOP debate on Tuesday, and the stage will feature fewer candidates—though not because anyone has dropped out. Host Fox Business on Thursday announced the lineup, and Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee have been relegated to the early debate. The criteria the decision was based on: a minimum polling average of 2.5% in four recent polls. The Hill reports the two finished at 2.25%, with Rand Paul barely making it in at the 2.5% cutoff. Seven will be joining Paul in Milwaukee, per NBC News: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich. The early debate will also feature Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum; Lindsey Graham and George Pataki didn't make the cut, having failed to grab at least 1% in any of the four polls.