--- title: Sen. Lindsey Graham Qualifies For CNN Presidential Debate description: The South Carolina Republican hits 1% in enough polls to win him a spot in at least the undercard debate at Reagan Library on Sept. 16. canonical: https://time.com/4017716/lindsey-graham-cnn-debate/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-31T19:26:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:35:22.137Z article:section: Politics og:title: Lindsey Graham Qualifies for CNN Debate og:description: He'll be in the undercard event after all. og:url: https://time.com/4017716/lindsey-graham-cnn-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde8036d40f6c140f/698861c00a4a2261ec9c5e18/lindsey-graham-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to fairgoers during the Iowa State Fair on August 17, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lindsey Graham Qualifies for CNN Debate twitter:description: He'll be in the undercard event after all. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde8036d40f6c140f/698861c00a4a2261ec9c5e18/lindsey-graham-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lindsey Graham Qualifies for CNN Undercard Debate  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Aug 31, 2015 7:26 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to fairgoers during the Iowa State Fair on August 17, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to fairgoers during the Iowa State Fair on August 17, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Aug 31, 2015 7:26 PM UTC Sen. Lindsey Graham’s presidential campaign got a tiny bit of good news this week: He’s qualified for the Sept. 16 debate. The South Carolina Republican hasn’t earned a spot in the primetime debate, but he did cross the threshold to get an invite to the undercard event, which will be held among lesser-polling candidates before the big event with the bigger names at the Reagan Library. Last week, it looked like Graham might not make it. But campaign aides said Monday that Graham has met the benchmark: an average of 1% support in three national polls between July 16 and Sept. 10\. CNN confirmed to them that Graham would get a podium. Graham has struggled to find support for his bid despite four terms in the U.S. House and is in the first year of his third in the Senate. He’s among the most experienced—if hawkish—members of his party’s national security wing. Yet he, like almost everyone other Republican White House hopeful, has struggled to break through a summer that has seen itself dominated by billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4017716/lindsey-graham-cnn-debate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4017716/lindsey-graham-cnn-debate/"},"headline":"Lindsey Graham Qualifies for CNN Undercard Debate","datePublished":"2015-08-31T19:26:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:35:22.137Z","description":"Struggling Republican hits 1% in three polls","url":"https://time.com/4017716/lindsey-graham-cnn-debate/","keywords":["Lindsey Graham","republicans","2016 Election topic","Debates"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde8036d40f6c140f/698861c00a4a2261ec9c5e18/lindsey-graham-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde8036d40f6c140f/698861c00a4a2261ec9c5e18/lindsey-graham-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. 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