FOX Business Network/WSJ GOP Candidate Debate Lineup Announced

FOX Business Network has announced the candidate lineups for the two Republican primary debates to be co-hosted with the Wall Street Journal next Tuesday, November 10.

In a departure from previous GOP debates, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee did not qualify for prime-time.

Full Coverage of Fox Business/WSJ GOP Debate. 

Instead the 9 p.m. ET roster will feature real estate mogul Donald Trump; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; former HP (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Carly Fiorina; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

Christie and Huckabee will participate in the 7 p.m. ET debate along with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who reacted to the news moments after it was announced. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be on the national stage." Santorum said during an appearance on FOX Business Network's Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham did not qualify for either debate, nor did ex-Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

The four polls used in the average were conducted by the following organizations: Fox News, Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP, Quinnipiac University, and The Wall Street Journal/NBC News. To qualify for the prime-time debate, a candidate had to score 2.5% or higher in an average of the four most recent national polls. Candidates scoring under that had to receive at least 1% support in at least one of the four most recent national polls to qualify for the 7 p.m. debate. No online or automated (IVR) polls were used in compiling the data.

In conjunction with the candidate lineup, FBN announced Thursday that cable and satellite providers will make the debate available to all their subscribers.

DIRECTV, Suddenlink, Mediacom, Frontier, Wide Open West, Cable One and some National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) companies plan to “unbundle” FBN so all subscribers can watch it during the debate.

The first debate will be one hour in length and moderated by FBN anchors Trish Regan, Sandra Smith & WSJ’s Washington Bureau Chief Gerald Seib. The second debate will span two hours and be moderated by FBN anchors Maria Bartiromo, Neil Cavuto and WSJ Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker. The debates will focus on the most important business and economic issues facing the United States including job creation, social security and taxes.

Thursday the GOP race intensified when Trump rolled out his first paid radio ad campaigns as he and Carson continue to track closely in the national polls, and also as Trump prepares for his appearance on Comcast's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBC's Saturday Night Live program this Saturday. Trump gave his Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) followers a sneak-peak of what's ahead: