New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted Friday that he may not qualify for the first presidential debate scheduled for the end of next month.
The Democratic National Committee set up specific qualifications for candidates to participate in the two-day debate in Miami, which is based on donors as well as on polling. A candidate needs to earn at least 1% of the vote in three national or early primary state polls conducted by designated polls or by receiving donations from 65,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 200 donors in at least 20 states. (RELATED: Here Are The 2020 Dems That Have Qualified For The First Presidential Debate)
“We have a third poll that we think is a qualifying poll from Reuters that puts me at the qualifying level. But remember, even if you get those three polls, there’s still a comparative dynamic with the candidates that has to ensue, so I’m not setting the expectation that I’ll be in it,” de Blasio said in Des Moines, Iowa, according to Politico.
“No one should ever overrate a single factor in an election,” he continued. “Elections are made up of so many different elements and, by the way, elections that will happen in February are not determined in June, I assure you.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a news conference about Amazon’s headquarters expansion to Long Island City in the Queens borough of New York City, in New York, U.S., November 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Former Vice President Joe Biden, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former HUD secretary Julian Castro and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker have all reached both milestone. (RELATED: Here Are The 2020 Dems That Have Qualified For The First Presidential Debate)
With 24 people having declared their candidacy, there will be multiple candidates left off the stage come June because the DNC set a maximum of 20 candidates for the debate. The two-day debate will consist of 10 candidates participating each day. In the event more than 20 candidates end up qualifying, they will select those people based on a separate metric that would favor those who reach both thresholds.