Paul and Fiorina Cut From Next Mainstage Debate

Republican presidential candidates Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina have been cut from the next mainstage debate on Thursday.

According to a newly-announced lineup by debate host Fox Business Network, only seven candidates will appear in the main debate: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich.

Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum will join Paul and Fiorina in being invited to the undercard debate.

Fox Business said they would include the candidates who are either in the Top 6 nationally, or the Top 5 in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Paul trailed Bush for the final spot in the debate nationally and in Iowa by 0.8 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, according to an ABC News analysis.

But before Christmas, Rand Paul said he would not participate in an undercard debate.

"I will not participate in any kind of second tier debate. We have a first tier campaign,” Paul told the "Kilmeade & Friends" radio show on Dec. 23. "If you tell a campaign, with three weeks to go they are second tier, you destroy the campaign.”

Fiorina, who appeared in the first undercard debate hosted by Fox News in August, delivered a strong performance and was added to the mainstage debate. After a bump in polling, especially in New Hampshire, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO has since lost substantial support.

Debate format has long been a contested topic during the 2016 presidential cycle, as some candidates have pointed to small differences in polling averages as an unfair standard.

Full averages, according to an ABC News analysis, are below:

National: Trump: 35.0 Cruz: 19.6 Rubio: 11.0 Carson: 9.4 Christie: 4.0 Bush: 3.6 Paul: 2.8 Fiorina: 2.2 Kasich: 1.8 Huckabee: 1.2 Santorum: 0.5 Gilmore: 0.3

Iowa: Cruz: 27.8 percent Trump: 26.4 Rubio: 14.0 Carson: 9.4 Bush: 4.8 Paul: 4.2 Christie: 3.2 Fiorina: 2.0 Huckabee: 1.8 Kasich: 1.4 Santorum: 0.6 Gilmore: 0.1

New Hampshire: Trump: 29.6 percent Rubio: 12.8 Cruz: 11.6 Christie: 9.6 Kasich: 9.0 Bush: 8.0 Carson: 4.4 Fiorina: 4.0 Paul: 3.8 Huckabee: 0.6 Santorum: 0.2 Gilmore: 0.2

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