So, can we finally get rid of the undercard debates now?
But what about Huckabee, Santorum and Pataki? We have these awesome 3!
Trump has suggested (and amazingly he has a very good point) that Pataki (or anyone) who has failed to qualify for any state primary ballots, should not be allowed to appear in a debate.
But even without that rule, at this point the debates could go back to the old rules of letting anyone in who averages 1% or more in national polls. That would put 10 people on stage and forego the undercard (Santorum, Pataki, and Gilmore stay home). However, I think the media outlets like the undercard ratings so they will probably stay.
Are there any particularly tough states to qualify for this year? If one had applied this rule in 2012, only Romney and Paul could have made the debates due to Virginia.
