Democratic presidential candidates unlikely to make the January debate stage may get a reprieve from pending rules changes that could clear the way for Cory Booker, Michael Bloomberg, and Julian Castro to participate.

Tom Perez, Democratic National Committee chair, told the New York Times that both a polling and donor threshold for debate qualification will remain in place for the Jan. 14 debate in Iowa, a blow to the eight candidates who failed to meet the mark for the December round and have a lower chance of meeting it for the January round.