Democrats' double feature debate days may be behind them.
With 20-something Democrats seeking to defeat President Trump in 2020, the Democratic National Committee has set donor and polling thresholds to limit the debates to two sets of 10 contenders. But with those minimums increasing for the third round of debates, just seven candidates look like they'll be on a single stage come September, The New York Times reports.
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Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and entrepreneur Andrew Yang have both hit the individual donor threshold, and need just one more poll to make the stage. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, meanwhile, has the polls under her belt but needs about 10,000 more donors, per the Times.
Only three other candidates — billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper — have any qualifying polls that'll go toward a September debate showing. Steyer hadn't qualified in time for the past two debates.
That leaves former debaters Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.); Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Maryland Rep. John Delaney; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.); Washington Gov. Jay Inslee; Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan; and spiritual author Marianne Williamson all hoping for some donor and polling miracles.
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