South Bend mayor and White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg has met the 65,000 individual donor threshold put in place by the Democratic National Committee, landing him a spot in the party’s first debate for the presidential nomination.
Buttigieg, 37, is vying to be the first openly gay presidential nominee of a major political party. The Navy veteran, who served in Afghanistan in the early parts of the 2010s as a Navy intelligence officer, announced his run in January.
“Thanks to you, we hit the [The Democrats’] 65,000 donor goal in order to be invited to the first debate. But we are going to need to raise a lot more money to compete,” Buttigieg tweeted on Saturday.
Thanks to you, we hit the @TheDemocrats 65,000 donor goal in order to be invited to the first debate. But we are going to need to raise a lot more money to compete. pic.twitter.com/SCOAZ20UuG
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) March 16, 2019
“I know I can hold my own on the debate stage and represent your values with honor and integrity,” he said.
Buttigieg became a national figure when he ran for the DNC chairmanship after Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz resigned and Donna Brazile was fired following controversial tenures ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
With an ever-growing field of candidacies for the nomination, Democratic party leaders announced last month that only candidates who receive contributions from 65,000 individual donors across at least 20 states would qualify for the first debate.
Long-shot candidate Andrew Yang also announced this week that he has met the 65,000 individual donor threshold, granting him an invitation to the first debate stage in June 2019. The serial entrepreneur was propelled by online grassroots support in the wake of his appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that led supporters to create memes with his image.
Former Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., was the first to announce his run for the presidency under the Democratic banner but he, as well as author Marianne Williamson, has yet to reach the threshold. In an attempt to get the ball rolling, Delaney’s campaign issued a statement last month that saying that Delaney was personally committed to donating money to charity every time a unique donor contributes to his campaign.
All other declared candidates have already cleared the threshold, with high-profile candidates such as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reaching it within hours of announcing.
