This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
2020 Democratic Debates: Who Will Make the Next Cut? ¶
With the third set of Democratic debates just around the corner, scheduled for September 12 and 13, the field is set to be cut in half. As of now, only eight candidates have met the much more stringent criteria for the next debates.
These candidates have until August 28 to secure 130,000 donors and at least 2% support in four polls. The current list of qualified candidates includes:
- Joe Biden
- Cory Booker
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana
- Kamala Harris
- Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Former Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas
- Bernie Sanders
- Elizabeth Warren
Other candidates, such as Julián Castro and Andrew Yang, are also likely to qualify, having met the donor threshold and secured three qualifying polls each. However, Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has only just met the donor threshold and has only one qualifying poll.
After August 28, the odds of qualifying for the next debates become much longer. Only two other candidates, former Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Tom Steyer, have even one qualifying poll, and Mr. Hickenlooper's fund-raising numbers are so low that his chances of reaching 130,000 donors are tiny.
According to a New York Times analysis, Bernie Sanders has far more individual donors than any other candidate, with an estimated 746,000 this election cycle. He is dominating in most areas, except for the home states of his opponents.
