Lineup for Next Democratic Presidential Debate Confirmed

Lineup for Next Democratic Presidential Debate Confirmed
(L)-Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks at the Iowa Federation Labor Convention in Altoona, Iowa, on Aug. 21, 2019. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images) (R)-Former Vice President Joe Biden, a presidential candidate, at a gun safety forum in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 10, 2019. Stephan Maturen/Getty Images
Zachary Stieber
Updated:

The lineup for the next Democratic presidential debate has been confirmed, as 10 candidates met the threshold put in place by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

They are former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Obama administration Housing Secretary Julián Castro, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and businessman Andrew Yang.

No candidate has been added since Castro’s qualification on Aug. 20.

Billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) are among those who narrowly missed the cut.

L: Tom Steyer, a Democratic presidential candidate, talks with fairgoers while walking around the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 11, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) R: Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) speaks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on Aug. 9, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
L: Tom Steyer, a Democratic presidential candidate, talks with fairgoers while walking around the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 11, 2019. R: Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) speaks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on Aug. 9, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Candidates needed to get 2 percent or more support in at least four polls, with only certain polls being counted by the committee; they also needed 130,000 unique donors.

Steyer fell short by one poll and Gabbard by two.

Both campaigns complained about the thresholds, as did a number of other candidates.
ABC, which, along with Univision, is hosting the debate in Houston, confirmed the field on Aug. 29, a day after the Aug. 28 deadline to meet the criteria.

The network previously said that 10 or fewer candidates qualifying would mean the debate would only take place on one night, instead of two. The network confirmed Aug. 29 that the debate will only take place on Sept. 12, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) Marianne Williamson, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Maryland congressman John Delaney, and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock take the stage at the beginning of the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, on July 30, 2019. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) Marianne Williamson, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Maryland congressman John Delaney, and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock take the stage at the beginning of the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, on July 30, 2019. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

It’s the first time that some of the candidates will share the stage. The previous debates had featured double the number of contenders, including the ones held by CNN in late July, forcing the lineup of contenders to be split into two groups to debate on consecutive nights.

Gabbard targeted Harris in the CNN debate and a number of contenders went after front-runner Biden. Biden and Warren are among the pairs that haven’t appeared on stage together as of yet.

The debate format gives candidates 75 seconds to directly respond to questions and 45 seconds to respond outside of the questions.

There will be opening statements, but no closing statements, another change from the last debate.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) speaks to guests during a campaign stop on March 19, 2019, in Dubuque, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) speaks to guests during a campaign stop on March 19, 2019, in Dubuque, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The debate, which will be held at Texas Southern University, will be available online on ABC News as well as on ABC television affiliates across the nation.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) dropped out of the race Aug. 28 as the sizable field of candidates shrinks in the months ahead of the first primary.

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, former West Virginia state Sen. Richard Ojeda, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) are the other Democratic candidates who have dropped out of the race.

The rest of the field consists of Gabbard, Steyer, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio); author Marianne Williamson; former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak, Rep. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam.

Candidates who didn’t qualify for the September debate still have a chance to qualify for the next debate, which will be held in October. Details for that debate haven’t been announced.

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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