Ten Candidates To Participate In Next Democratic Debate; Julian Castro Fails To Qualify For MSNBC Event

Ted Johnson

Click here to read the full article.

Ten candidates officially have qualified for next week’s Democratic debate, with Julian Castro shut out of the event for failing to meet a higher threshold.

Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang made the cut for Wednesday’s faceoff at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, the DNC announced Thursday.

More from Deadline

Although the field has thinned, it is only two fewer than the 12 candidates who qualified for the October debate, a record number of contenders taking the stage at such an event.

Also not on the stage next week: Deval Patrick, who announced on Thursday his entry into the race, too late to qualify. Another potential candidate, Michael Bloomberg, is considering joining the field.

To qualify for next week’s debate, candidates had to have 3% support in at least four national or early-state polls, or 5% in at least two early-state polls. They also must have 165,000 unique donors. That means Patrick will have to make a big splash in their late entries, along with Bloomberg if he runs.

Castro met the donor threshold but failed to meet the polling requirement.

MSNBC and The Washington Post are sponsoring Wednesday’s event, with moderators Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell and Kristen Welker, as well as the Post‘s Ashley Parker.

The December debate will be held December 19 in Los Angeles, with PBS NewsHour and Politico as sponsors. The threshold to qualify will be even higher for that event, as participants have to reach 200,000 donors, as well as at least 4% support in four polls or at least 6% in two early state polls.

December Democratic Debate Slated For UCLA Won’t Be At UCLA

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.