Steve Bullock will join the cast of 20 presidential candidates preparing for their make-or-break appearances at this month’s second series of Democratic National Committee debates, the DNC announced Wednesday.
The Montana governor, 53, will take the stage during one of the 2020 primary debates being broadcast by CNN from Detroit on July 30 and July 31 after failing to meet both the polling and fundraising criteria for the opening events last month in Miami.
His campaign had criticized the DNC for making an “arbitrary” rule change and excluding an open-ended public opinion survey on which he was relying to qualify.
Bullock is the only new entrant to qualify for a spot reserved for White House hopefuls vying for the right to challenge President Trump next year, replacing California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who bowed out last week. He was competing against Mike Gravel for the last remaining slot, but bested the former Alaska senator after he gained more support in the polls.
Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, former Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak, and billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer are the other candidates who missed out, putting pressure on their respective campaigns. Sestak and Steyer, however, entered the race in recent weeks.
Former Obama housing secretary Julian Castro and Sen. Kamala Harris both enjoyed a boost in national media attention and fundraising hauls after the previous debate in Miami. The other contenders who will seek to emulate their success are Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, former Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, ex-Maryland Rep. John Delaney, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, ex-Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, self-help guru Marianne Williamson, and entreprenuer Andrew Yang.
The July debates are the last ones in which hopefuls had to garner at least 1% of the vote in three polls and 65,000 unique donors, with 200 contributors from 20 states. The Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 debates, to be hosted by ABC News and Univision in Houston, will require by Aug. 28 at least 2% support in four polls and 130,000 unique donors, with 400 contributors from 20 states. The same thresholds will apply for the October events.
CNN will announce who will appear on what night late Thursday in a partially random process. NBC News, who hosted the Miami debates, first divided the candidates into two tiers according to polling before making a random draw.
