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- The Democratic primary debates for September have significantly more strict qualifying thresholds, suggesting the 2020 presidential field could thin out before the next round.
- Candidates must reach 2% in at least four separate polls approved by the Democratic National Committee and receive at least 130,000 individual donations, which must also include 400 donors in at least 20 states or US territories.
- So far, only a handful of candidates have qualified.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
The Democratic presidential primary debates set for this September will be decidedly more difficult for candidates to qualify for than the first round of debates.
The number of donors candidates must receive is doubled to a minimum of 130,000, with at least 400 donors coming from 20 different states or US territories. The candidates will also have to obtain at least 2% in four separate polls approved by the Democratic National Committee.
Read more: There are 2 dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, but it’s really only a 5 person race
And unlike the first two sets of debates in June and July, candidates will have to meet both the polling and donor minimums, instead of hitting just one of them.
That could thin out the field considerably, with many candidates very far from meeting either threshold, let alone both. Here are the candidates who have qualified so far.
Joe Biden
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Former Vice President Joe Biden easily dominated the polling aspect, regularly trouncing the rest of the field in most major surveys. For donations, Biden raised more than $20 million in the second quarter of 2019.
Bernie Sanders
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Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has a massive national list of donors from which to solicit funds. Sanders also regularly falls in the top tier of candidates in most polling, despite losing some traction in recent months.
Kamala Harris
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Sen. Kamala Harris of California received a big boost in both donations and polling support after her performance in the first June debate.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- 12 biggest takeaways from the first of two 2020 Democratic presidential debates in Detroit
- Here are the winners and losers of Tuesday’s feisty Democratic presidential debate
- Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders team up against John Delaney in Democratic debate’s first question on ‘Medicare for All’
Source: Business Insider – jperticone@businessinsider.com (Joe Perticone)