Here's what 2020 Democrats have to do to make the November debate

(Image credit: Eric Gay/ Associated Press)

last updated 23 September 2019

The Democratic National Committee is back with some brand new hoops to jump through.

Continuing the trend it has followed in each successive primary debate, the DNC on Monday announced increased donor and polling requirements candidates have to meet to make the November debate stage. It includes a total of 165,000 individual donors and a smattering of poll showings either nationally or in one of four early-primary states.

The total number of donors isn't that much higher than the 130,000 threshold it was set at for the September debates, and at least eight of the 10 candidates who got on that stage have hit that milestone, The New York Times reports. But the newly required 3-percent showing in four national or early-state polls, or at least 5 percent in two early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina — may be a bit harder.

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Polls are only counted if they were released between Sept. 13 and seven days before the November debate, so it's a bit like a reset button for any traction candidates had gained and lost over the summer. The November debate date hasn't been announced yet, and only three qualifying polls have been released so far. Top tier candidates including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) could all make the cut by Tuesday morning, Politico reports.

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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.

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