Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal reportedly may drop out of the undercard GOP presidential candidates' debate in Colorado next week – and is lobbying for a change in eligibility criteria for inclusion in the primetime face-off.
After better-polling rivals Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson won a concession from the Republican National Committee and TV debate host CNBC
to limit next week's debate to two hours, Jindal is looking for a change in primetime eligibility so early state primary polling counts – rather than just an average of national surveys,
the Washington Examiner reports.
As of Tuesday, national averaging
shows Jindal with 0.4 percent support, near the bottom of the GOP filed.
The Examiner reports he's in the top 10 and rising in Iowa, adding that if he skipped out of the third debate, he could focus on campaigning in Iowa.
"The biggest disappointment is that the RNC and the network have outsourced their power to Donald Trump, who believes in national health care and that George W. Bush is responsible for 9/11," Jindal campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho tells the Examiner. "They completely caved to his demands."
Among the other GOP candidates, only Carly Fiorina made mention of the demands granted to Trump and Carson, via her spokeswoman's tweet.
"If you use the criteria that CNBC used four years ago for this debate, Jindal would be on the [prime time] stage," Jindal campaign manager Timmy Teepell said. "We are hopeful they don't exclude us."
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