There are officially too many 2020 Democrats for the debate stage


The Democratic National Committee is prepared to smush 20 candidates onto two stages for each of its 12 primary debates. One problem: Its 21st candidate just joined the race.
With Sen. Michael Bennet's (D-Co.) 2020 announcement on Thursday, the possibility now stands that too many Democrats will meet the DNC's requirements by the time the first debate rolls around in June. It also raises the question of whether the DNC's debate qualifications remain too attainable to push out improbable candidates — not that the committee has said it'll change them, The New York Times reports.
Of those already in the race, only 17 have qualified by either getting 65,000 donors, with at least 200 donors each coming from 20 individual states, or by polling at 1 percent in three polls on a predetermined list. Nine candidates — including seemingly long-shot contenders Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang — have hit both thresholds. Only four have yet to qualify, and they have nearly two months to do so. And let's not forget the few Democrats still teasing a run.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That poses a problem for the DNC's cap and qualifications, seeing as a committee spokesperson told the Times they wouldn't be changed now. Instead, the DNC has set up some tiebreakers. Debaters will be determined first if they meet both the donor and polling limits, then by their highest polling average, and then by most unique donors.
That's probably why Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) started pushing Thursday to meet a second debate threshold, tweeting that he has around 63,000 individual donors and asking for "less than 2,000" more. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Julián Castro also specifically cited the individual donor threshold in tweets earlier this week.
Read more about the potential debate debacle at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Music reviews: Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs, and Molly Tuttle
Feature "Star Line," "Interior Live Oak," and "So Long Little Miss Sunshine"
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitions
Feature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material