Twelve presidential candidates are expected to debate on one stage during the October Democratic presidential primary debate, the largest number of debating candidates so far in the primary season.
The Democratic National Committee told campaigns in an email Friday morning that it intends to hold one debate night on Oct. 15, multiple outlets reported. The DNC had said that Oct. 16 could be a potential second night.
“To address several inquiries we have received we are writing to let you know that, pending a final decision after the certification deadline, it is the intention of the DNC and our media partners to hold the October debate over one night on Tuesday October 15th,” the email said.
The desire for good ratings is a motivating factor behind the decision. “Our goal has always been to expand viewership, and we also believe that one night worked well for this last debate,” an unnamed DNC official told CNN.
In the last three debate rounds, Democratic debates have not featured more than 10 candidates on a single debate stage. The June and July debates featured two nights with 10 candidates each, and the September debate had 10 candidates on a single night.
Only 10 candidates qualified for the September debate, all of whom will be in the October round. Because the October debate has the same qualification standards as the September round and gave candidates more time to amass qualifying polls, two additional candidates made the cut: billionaire businessman Tom Steyer and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Candidates must have reached 130,000 individual donors and 2% or higher support in at least four DNC-approved primary polls by Oct. 1 to qualify for the debate. Spiritual author Marianne Williamson is the only other not-yet-qualified candidate who has passed the donor threshold, but she is still three polls away from qualifying.
The 12 candidates who have qualified for the October debate stage in Ohio, hosted by CNN and the New York Times, are:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden.
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
- Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro.
- Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
- California Sen. Kamala Harris.
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
- Businessman Tom Steyer.
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
- Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
The DNC raised qualification standards for the November round, which could again winnow the field.
