Six candidates have so far qualified for the December Democratic debate in Los Angeles, sponsored by PBS Newshour and Politico.
ADVERTISEMENTWASHINGTON — Six candidates have so far qualified for next month's Democratic debate in Los Angeles, sponsored by PBS Newshour and Politico, according to an unofficial NBC News tally.
Candidates have until Dec. 12 to qualify for the Dec. 19 debate, but those who have already clinched a podium are:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana
- California Sen. Kamala Harris
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders
A handful of candidates are still in the hunt, as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, billionaire Tom Steyer and businessman Andrew Yang have all met some portion of the qualifications.
But others — including former Housing and Urban Development Sec. Julián Castro, who made the October debate but missed the cut in November — will struggle to hit the threshold needed to make the stage.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who officially announced he's running on Sunday, isn't accepting donations, which will make it impossible for him to qualify.
Candidates need to show strength in both grassroots fundraising — netting 200,000 unique donors or more — as well as in the polls, hitting 4 percent in four national or state polls, or 6 percent in two polls of the early states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
The lineup is unofficial until the DNC certifies the field, and the donor totals are based on candidates' public self-reporting figures.
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