With nine candidates qualified for the November presidential primary debate and a possibility of others making the stage, the Democratic National Committee’s rules that were expected to whittle the number of candidates is not resulting in a smaller debate stage.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the most recent candidate to qualify for the November debate Quinnipiac poll released Thursday that found her with 3% support nationally among likely Democratic presidential primary and caucus voters. Klobuchar had a forceful performance during the October debate last week, contributing to a bump in fundraising and momentum for her campaign.
To qualify for the November debate, candidates must surpass 165,000 individual donors plus a polling threshold of 3% or higher support in at least four DNC-approved polls or 5% or higher support in at least two early voting state polls. The standards are higher than previous debates, but with nine candidates qualified so far, the debate structure is unlikely to be significantly different than it was with 12 candidates during the October debate, frustrating some Democrats.
“Ten or more candidates on the stage is tough because it’s harder to delve into the policy differences of the candidates,” said Michael Kapp, a DNC member from California. “Saying that it’s even more difficult to get into policy depth because of the mostly uninspiring questions being asked, many of which parrot conservative talking points.”
“Our media hosts seem to be more willing to garner headlines and set up fights than actually providing the American people with an opportunity to learn about our presidential candidates,” Kapp added.
Aside from California Sen. Kamala Harris seeing a bump in support after she attacked Joe Biden during the first debate, poll numbers have remained largely steady after the debates.
“The more candidates that continue to exist, the more of a status quo primary and election it’s going to be,” said Aaron Kall, debate director at the University of Michigan. “Lower-tier candidates haven’t been given the opportunity really to break out, and the same top candidates get a vast disproportionate amount of time.”
Nine candidates have qualified for the November debate so far:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- California Sen. Kamala Harris
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Businessman Tom Steyer
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang
Two candidates have met the 165,000 donor mark and have at least one 3% or higher qualifying poll:
- Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
Gabbard has one qualifying poll, and O’Rourke has two.
Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro is the only other candidate who has passed the 165,000 donor threshold, but no November qualifying polls have found him at 3% or above. Castro said in an email to supporters on Monday that if he does not meet his $800,000 10-day fundraising goal or qualify for the November debate, he will have “no choice but to end my race for President.”
