Kasich, Christie make the cut for prime-time Republican debate

By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Governors Chris Christie and John Kasich on Tuesday won the last spots on stage next to front-runner Donald Trump and seven other candidates in the first prime-time presidential debate, gaining a potential head start in credibility and exposure. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and five others in the crowded 2016 Republican field were left out of Thursday's televised 9 p.m. EDT debate by host Fox News, which invited the top 10 candidates in an average of five recent opinion polls. The leftover candidates will appear in a separate forum outside of the spotlight at 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, leaving them fighting to win attention and prove to voters and donors they have a legitimate shot at the nomination. Making the cut were Trump, the real estate mogul who has shot to the top of Republican polls, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Governors Christie of New Jersey and Kasich of Ohio. Shuffled out of prime time were Perry, Santorum, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former business executive Carly Fiorina, former New York Governor George Pataki and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. Fox's decision to limit the participants to 10 was criticized by some Republicans as unfair given that several candidates were bunched in the low single digits, well within the margin of error of most polls. It also created weeks of anxiety for those on the bubble in the 17-candidate field. Without the attention gained in a nationally televised debate, some of those at the bottom of the pile could face an early end to their campaign. Fox, which had said it would use the five most recent national polls recognized by the network to pick the participants, said it used polls conducted by Bloomberg, CBS, Fox, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University. (Reporting by John Whitesides; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Sandra Maler and Eric Beech)