CNN's Democratic debate criteria leave the door wide open for Joe Biden

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 28 September 2015

CNN invited all five declared Democratic presidential candidates to the Oct. 13 debate, and, should he formally launch a campaign in the meantime, Vice President Joe Biden would be qualified to join them. Based on the criteria the network announced Monday, any declared candidate averaging at least 1 percent in polls between Aug. 1 and Oct. 10 is welcome on the Las Vegas stage.

Biden has repeatedly expressed uncertainty over declaring his candidacy, saying he's not sure if he's ready to make the commitment so soon after the May death of his eldest son, Beau. Even so, his super PAC is staffing up in states with early primaries, and he's already polling well.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.