Eighteen
2020 candidates have qualified so far for 20 available spots in the
Democratic debates, scheduled to kick off on June 26.
Four candidates have yet to qualify, and several other hopefuls
may still enter the race, potentially setting up a frantic scramble to see who will ultimately be allowed on the debate stage.
The
Democratic National Committee in February
announced new qualifications that candidates must meet to participate in the first two presidential debates in June and July.
The DNC said it would rely on both polling and grassroots fundraising numbers, giving two measures by which a candidate can qualify:
- A candidate must reach 1% support in at least three separate, approved polls between Jan. 1 and two weeks before the debate.
- A candidate must raise money from at least 65,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states, from the launch of their campaign to two weeks before the debate.
In the unlikely event that more than 20 campaigns hit both thresholds, the DNC said the top 20 will likely be determined by the highest polling average.
The committee designed the requirements specifically to avoid showing favor to certain candidates and to make the process as random as possible. So far, the qualifications have
proved to be fairly easy to meet for most candidates.
Eleven candidates have hit both metrics so far, and six have qualified through polls but not by fundraising. One candidate, author Marianne Williamson, just reached the donor threshold on Thursday, according to her campaign.
Four candidates have not reached either threshold
.
Some campaigns, like that of former Alaskan Sen. Mike Gravel (D), say they’re still hopeful their candidate will qualify for the debates. A campaign representative said Gravel has roughly 30,000 unique donations so far.
“However, Gravel 2020 has about a month left to receive the requisite donations and we are planning a major media and advertising campaign to ensure that we qualify,” the spokesman told HuffPost.
Here is a breakdown of which candidates have qualified and by what metrics.
Who’s qualified by both polling and donors:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) of South Bend, Indiana
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii)
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
Former Obama housing chief Julián Castro (D)
Businessman Andrew Yang (D)
Who’s qualified just by polls:
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D)
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D)
Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.)
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)
Who’s qualified just by donors:
Author Marianne Williamson
Who has not qualified by either metric yet:
Mayor Wayne Messam (D) of Miramar, Florida
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.)
Former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
Who’s polling in the top:
According to an
April 30 analysis by The New York Times, the candidates with the top polling averages so far are:
- Biden
- Sanders
- Harris
- O’Rourke
- Warren
- Buttigieg
- Booker
- Klobuchar
