Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley may not qualify for the upcoming NBC/YouTube Democratic debate, leaving the top two candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to duke it out on the main state.
In order to qualify for the Jan. 17 debate, candidates must reach an average of 5 percent either nationally or in Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina in five of the most recent polls recognized by NBC News published before Jan. 14.
O’Malley, who has trailed both Clinton and Sanders for the duration of his campaign, currently polls at just 3.5 percent nationally, at 2.5 percent in South Carolina and at 2.3 percent in New Hampshire.
The RealClearPolitics polling average for Iowa has him at 6.3 percent, but the poll bringing his numbers above the threshold in this average isn’t recognized by NBC for the debate. Therefore, he could miss out.
Most recently, O’Malley missed another crucial mark by failing to qualify for the Ohio primary ballot, as either an official primary candidate or even as a write-in candidate. The campaign accepted public funding in mid-November.
