Just like that, we now have 12 candidates qualified for the October Democratic debate coming up on the 15th and 16th. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard secured her last poll needed to claim a spot on the debate stage. Gabbard becomes the first candidate who missed the cut in September, after appearing at the first two debates but has been able to get back on the stage for the fourth debate in October.
Politico reports on the welcome news for the Gabbard campaign:
Gabbard got 2 percent support in a New Hampshire poll conducted by Monmouth University and released on Tuesday. The Hawaii congresswoman had previously gotten 2 percent in three other DNC-approved polls, and her campaign said she already racked up more than the 130,000 donors she needed to make the debate stage.
Gabbard will join Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang onstage in October.
Neither Steyer nor Gabbard participated in the September debate, with both needing more time to hit the polling threshold. It’s not yet clear if their inclusion will force two nights of debates in October. Previously, the DNC and its media partners have wanted to avoid putting more than 10 people onstage at a time.
The news might be welcome for Gabbard, but it’s probably horrible news for viewers who already feel that there are too many candidates on stage. Once again, we will get a debate split over two nights, this time with possibly 6 candidates on stage each night. There’s no doubt that 6 on stage at a time is better than 10, but inevitably some of the front runners will be split up again as they were int he first two debates.
October Democratic Debate (Debate #4)
Watch On: CNN
Night 1: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019
Night 2: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019
Location: Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio
Moderators: Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, and Marc Lacey
No word yet on which candidates will appear on which night.
October Debate Candidates
Here is the list of candidates for the October debate which will air on CNN next month:
| 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 | ✓ | ||||
Gabbard will likely be the last candidate to make the cut. Marianne Williamson is the next closest, but she still needs 3 more qualifying polls. The deadline for qualifying is Oct. 1 which means it’s practically impossible for Williamson to earn a debate spot.
Gabbard’s ability to make the stage once again may be due to the headlines she created in recent weeks over her allegations that the DNC is not being transparent in how they create the rules which govern debate participation. To the contrary, the DNC says, they’re being very transparent, and that they can’t please everyone. That issue won’t be settled any time soon but at least Gabbard will take home a consolation prize.
Gabbard will get another chance to stand before voters on the debate stage and make her case to a national audience.
