The 2020 lineup is starting to shrink and, by the time the September 12 and 13 debates roll around, there will be only ten who will qualify. The candidates fighting for the Democratic nomination are going to extremes to appease their far-left supporters and place themselves higher in the polls. Here’s who qualified:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro
- California Sen. Kamala Harris
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- Businessman Andrew Yang
The Democratic National Committee has tightened its debate rules and may tighten them even more the closer we get to October.
While there’s a strong chance other long-shots may also bow out later this week, others may give their candidacies another month. The criteria to make the cut for October’s fourth round of debates is the same as the third, giving the lower-tier candidates another month to reach the debate stage.
“I’d like to see candidates stay in – at least until the fourth debate – because there’s a good chance some of them will qualify for October and I hope some of them will do that so people have a chance to see them,” said Kathy Sullivan, a DNC member from New Hampshire. “There are some really great candidates who either got in late or haven’t got the coverage that some of the others have who I’d like to see them have the chance to introduce themselves.”
But Sullivan, a former state Democratic Party chair, acknowledged that “at some point, obviously closer to the end of the year, people have to do a gut check on money and whether or not they have the ability to move on.”
The ten candidates that remain are likely to come out with more outlandish socialist plans to keep up with their counterparts. No matter which Democrat wins the nomination, President Trump should have a huge advantage to win re-election as an incumbent president who has been superb at keeping his campaign promises.