No sooner have we finished the third Democratic debate and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is already giving us details on the next installment coming up in October. We knew it would take place in Ohio, but not exactly where. Now we know, from a press release, that the campus of Otterbein University, located in Westerville, Ohio, will be the setting for the October democratic debate. The university sits on the outskirts of Columbus, the state capital.
This time around, CNN will join with The New York Times as the debate host and broadcast partner.
CNN/New York Times Democratic Debate
When: Tuesday, October 15, 2019, with the chance for a second night on October 16
Location: Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio
Sponsors: CNN, New York Times
Moderators: CNN hosts Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett, along with New York Times National Editor Marc Lacey
October Debate Candidates
Candidates have until Oct. 1 to qualify, but here is the list so far.
| Num | Candidate | Polls AND Donors | Donors Only | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Biden | ✓ | ||||
| 2 | Cory Booker | ✓ | ||||
| 3 | Pete Buttigieg | ✓ | ||||
| 4 | Kamala Harris | ✓ | ||||
| 5 | Amy Klobuchar | ✓ | ||||
| 6 | Beto O’Rourke | ✓ | ||||
| 7 | Bernie Sanders | ✓ | ||||
| 8 | Tom Steyer | ✓ | ||||
| 9 | Elizabeth Warren | ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Andrew Yang | ✓ | ||||
| 11 | Julian Castro | ✓ | ||||
| 12 | Tulsi Gabbard | ✓ | ||||
| Not Qualified | ||||||
| 13 | Michael Bennet | |||||
| 14 | Steve Bullock | |||||
| 15 | John Delaney | |||||
| 16 | Wayne Messam | |||||
| 17 | Tim Ryan | |||||
| 18 | Joe Sestak | |||||
| 19 | Marianne Williamson | ✓ | ||||
According to the Times, the rest of the field has until Oct. 1 to qualify which means the lineup could expand beyond eleven:
So far 11 candidates have qualified for the CNN/New York Times debate — the 10 Democrats who appeared in Thursday night’s debate on ABC, as well as the businessman Tom Steyer, who recently qualified for the next one. Other candidates have until the end of the day on Oct. 1 to meeting the qualifying standards.
The criteria for October are the same as those for September: Candidates must have 130,000 unique donors and register at least 2 percent support in four qualifying polls.
What’s the chance that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard or author Marianne Williamson can make the cut for October? The chances are unlikely but possible. With both candidates having failed to make the cut for September and therefore being left off the national debate stage, it will get harder for them to find poll numbers as their name slips from the list of candidates voters have seen anytime recently.
Gabbard sits with two qualifying polls in search of two more. Williamson only has one qualifying poll and needs three more to make the October stage. Both candidates have met the donor threshold.
The Times notes that depending on the number of candidates, the debate could be split over two nights. With 11 candidates, and a pledge by the DNC to have no more than 10 candidates on stage, it can only be assumed that CNN or the Times don’t want to commit to two nights given the chance that one candidate dropping out would compress the field back to the magic number of 10 meaning the debate would be set for only one night.
Follow the Democratic debate schedule page for all the latest information.
