DNC Raises Threshold For Candidates To Qualify For November Debate

When CNN telecasts the next Democratic presidential debate in October, 10 or more candidates are likely to qualify and make it to the stage. But based the Democratic National Committees new qualifying criteria announced Monday, its the November debate that is very likely to feature a pared down set of contenders.

Thats because the DNCs new threshold will be difficult for many of the candidates to meet.

Roughly speaking, candidates will need to show that theyve garnered contributions from 165,000 unique donors and that they have reached 3% in four polls. That compares to the previous threshold — 130,000 individual donors and 2% in four qualifying polls.

Candidates also can qualify for the November event by meeting the donor requirement and by reaching 5% or more support in two single-state polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada.

The DNCs new criteria stands to make for a slimmer group on the debate stage, but it also could pare down the entire field of candidates.

Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson, Michael Bennet, Steve Bullock, John Delaney, Tim Ryan and Joe Sestak are still in the race after failing to make the most recent debate, and if the dont make the October event, scheduled for October 15 and possibly the next night too, their task bRead More – Source