The Fox Business Network invited only seven Republican candidates to its prime-time debate Thursday, relegating Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina to a preliminary session the same night.
The main debate in North Charleston, S.C., will feature businessman Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neurologist Ben Carson, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
The prime time event starts at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Paul, a Kentucky senator who has been on the main stage in five previous debates, told CNN he will likely skip the 6 p.m. ET preliminary debate that same night: "I won't participate in anything that's not first tier because we have a first tier campaign."
Paul and Fiorina were invited to the "undercard" debate along with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Earlier in the day, the Paul campaign said in a statement that he placed fifth in a recent Iowa poll, and has finished ahead of Bush, Christie, Kasich and Fiorina in other surveys.
Citing criteria announced last month, Fox Business Network said that, "to qualify, a candidate needs to be either among the top six in an average of the five most recent national polls, or among the top five in an average of the five most recent Iowa or New Hampshire polls."
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