Blacksburg, VA - The Libertarian Candidate for Governor, Robert Sarvis, will not be participating in the third and final debate of the governor's race.

WDBJ, the host of the debate announced Thursday that Sarvis had fallen short of the 10 percentage points required to be invited to the stage on October 24th at Virginia Tech.

Recent polls showed Sarvis polling as high as 12 and as low as 8%.

In a statement released Thursday, he responded to the announcement by saying:

"We all know what happened here. As the goalposts kept changing over the past couple weeks, it became clear that the decision would be made on the basis of measures that have the patina of objectivity, but in fact are designed to exclude.

A decision made two weeks in advance of the debatean eternity this close to Election Daybased on an average of polls released over a three-week window effectively anchors us to the lower numbers of older polls, even though our numbers continue to rise in every poll. I am disappointed, but not surprised.

Our political system has been distorted for the benefit of the two incumbent parties and no longer serves the voters of Virginia. That's why this campaign is such a breath of fresh air for so many people and why I remain undeterred.

To the voters of Virginia, I say this: I won't let anyone take away your right to hear from all the candidates. I will carry on the campaign and show you why I am - and my vision for a Virginia that's both "Open-minded and Open for Business" is - the best choice for Governor of Virginia."

See the rest here:

Libertarian Candidate Not Invited to Final Gubernatorial Debate