Out of the field of 25 Democratic presidential candidates, only five have reached the qualifications to participate in September’s debates.
As The Hill reports,
Contenders must reach 2 percent in at least four qualifying polls and secure 130,000 donors to qualify for debates in September — a high bar that only former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg have reached so far.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex.), and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are among the candidates who have yet to reach the requirements for September.
The presidential hopefuls will debate this Tuesday and Wednesday and Biden is expected to be the center of attention with Booker and Harris planning to attack him on race issues.
“We are ready to expect the unexpected,” a Biden campaign adviser said. “Everyone is looking for their T-shirt moment.”
With 20 candidates left, the debate stage will be full as Bullock, Buttigeg, Delaney, Hickenlooper, Klobuchar, O’Rourke, Ryan, Sanders, Warren and Williams meet on July 30. Meanwhile, Bennet, Biden, Booker, Castro, de Blasio, Gabbard, Gillibrand, Harris, Inslee, and Yang will battle it out on July 31, according to CNN.