News

Graham to miss home state event because of low poll numbers

by Mark Hensch - 09/09/15 5:33 PM ET

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is ineligible for a forum in his home state featuring other GOP presidential candidates amid low national polling numbers, a new report says.

Graham is not qualified for Heritage Action’s forum at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville on Sept. 18, according to The Greenville News.

{mosads}It said on Wednesday that Heritage Action is requiring participants to earn at least 1 percent voter support according to August’s RealClearPolitics average of national samplings.

Graham is disqualified, it said, given he scored 0 percent among the final average of U.S. polls last month.

Govs. Jim Gilmore (R-Va.) and George Pataki (R-N.Y.) would also not make the cut, but Graham’s miss is particularly stinging given the senator hails from the Palmetto State.

It also shows that the Congressman is struggling for traction in one of the most crowded GOP presidential fields in recent memory.

The Greenville News said on Wednesday Heritage Action has extended invites to the 14 Republican White House hopefuls who did qualify for its forum in nine days.

It added that more than 10,000 people are registered for the sold-out event co-moderated by former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

DeMint is now president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank in Washington, D.C. that counts Heritage Action as its sister organization.

The Greenville News said on Wednesday that DeMint is not interrogating the 2016 GOP candidates present during the Sept. 18 event.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R-) and Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham receive that honor, it said.

The forum is additionally taking queries from conservative activists Heritage Action handpicks as “Sentinels,” the news publication added.