2020 Democratic debate: DNC ups requirements, see who qualified in December
Published Date: 11/21/2019
Source: axios.com
The Democratic National Committee raised the stakes for the sixth 2020 presidential debate set to take place on Dec. 19 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif., Politico reports. Six candidates have qualified to appear on stage so far. The big picture: The new polling requirements could endanger all but the top candidates as participants will have to gain support of 4% in at least four DNC-approved national or early-state polls. Candidates can also qualify by hitting 6% in two approved early-state polls.Contenders need at least 200,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 800 donors in 20 states.The cutoff date to make the sixth debate is Dec. 12.The candidates who qualified:Former Vice President Joe BidenSen. Elizabeth WarrenSen. Bernie SandersSen. Kamala HarrisMayor Pete ButtigiegSen. Amy KlobucharWhat to watch: Some second-tier candidates could face an uphill battle.Julián Castro failed to qualify for the November debate stage weeks after threatening to drop out over waning fundraising.Sen. Cory Booker announced Thursday he received enough donations to meet the debate threshold. He still needs to make the polling requirements, CNN reports.Go deeper: 5 takeaways from the November Democratic debateButtigieg to face frontrunner scrutiny after surprise Iowa pollDebate night: Harris says "Trump got punked" on North Korea