The Republican National Committee is hurting the party by “micromanaging” the debates, presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham said Thursday.
According to the South Carolina senator, the party should stop dividing presidential candidates into groups based on polling.
“I think the Republican Party is becoming the loser here. We’ve got talented candidates. The process is not bringing out the best in the party,” Graham said Thursday morning on MNSBC’s “Morning Joe.” “The RNC is trying to correct the last cycle’s problem of too many debates. They’ve overdone it. They’re micromanaging the process.”
“You know, I don’t think the RNC could run a one-car funeral,” he added about Wednesday night’s third GOP debate. “This is getting pretty bad.”
Graham wasn’t on the main stage Wednesday night, and instead participated in the one-hour early debate with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former New York Gov. George Pataki.
“I don’t think I’m an undercard candidate when it comes to national security or trying to fix problems like the debt,” Graham said.
Graham has complained about the debate process before. “I think it sucks,” Graham said on Tuesday ahead of the debate, according to CNN.
His campaign manager, Christian Ferry, also wrote to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in September criticizing the process.
“The RNC should not be in the business of winnowing down primary fields; in fact, the rules specifically forbid it without a vote of the committee. No such vote has taken place,” he wrote, according to Politico. “This race is far from over and far from narrowing down. Let’s give voters the full picture and view of our party, not limit participation.”
The next RNC debate is slated for Nov. 10 in Milwaukee on Fox Business Network.
In a RealClearPolitics average of polls, Graham garners one percent, putting him in eleventh place.
