Democrats are going to pack all 12 candidates into 1 night for the October debate

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

last updated 27 September 2019

This many people haven't been on one stage since Arcade Fire's Saturday Night Live performance.

So far, 12 candidates have made the October Democratic debates, and it looks like that'll remain the total by the time the Oct. 1 qualifying deadline hits. But despite a generally accepted 10-candidates-per-stage limit, CNN and The New York Times will shove all those qualifiers on one stage, the Democratic National Committee said Friday.

The 2020 Democratic field has been packed since day one, and in an attempt to control it a bit, the DNC limited its July and August debates to 20 candidates split into two nights. Things substantially narrowed in September when the DNC increased its donor and polling requirements to get on the stage, leaving 10 candidates behind. But with those standards unchanged for October, another two candidates — Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) and billionaire Tom Steyer — have snuck on the stage.

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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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