The DNC is increasing the qualifying requirements for the 2nd round of 2020 Democratic debates

The Democratic National Committee has introduced new rules that will make qualifying for debates much more challenging for some 2020 candidates.

The DNC said on Wednesday that starting with the third Democratic debate in September, candidates will need to reach at least 2 percent in four approved polls between June and August. Before August, they also must take in contributions from at least 130,000 unique donors and a minimum of 400 individuals in at least 20 states, The Associated Press reports.

This up from the current requirements of either 1 percent polling or 65,000 unique donors with a minimum of 200 individuals in at least 20 states.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

These requirements may significantly cut down on the number of debate participants, as Politico reports that of the more than 20 candidates in the race, only eight of them are polling at more than 2 percent in four polls: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke.

Although Politico notes that not all of the campaigns have released information about their number of individual donors, BuzzFeed's Ruby Cramer observes that many of the 2020 contenders have "struggled (some mightily)" just to reach the current requirement of 65,000 donors, meaning this new threshold for some campaigns will feel like an "impossible ask."