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.
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.
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.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Codeword: November 15, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
