By: Lucy Alcindor
It seems the Democratic National Committee agrees with the thousands of New Yorkers who are telling Mayor Bill de Blasio he is wasting his time running for president.
The DNC has announced that the four top-polling candidates were among the 10 who made the cut for the event on Sept. 12 in Houston. Each candidate was invited based on qualification criteria agreed to by the DNC and ABC and announced in May 2019.
Based on the qualification criteria agreed to by the DNC and ABC and announced in May 2019, the following candidates have been invited to participate in the third primary debate:
Vice President Joe Biden
Sen. Cory Booker
Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Sec. Julian Castro
Sen. Kamala Harris
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Rep. Beto O’Rourke
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Mr. Andrew Yang
Candidates who took part in the June and July who have now been left at the side of the road are Tim Ryan, Michael Bennet, Marianne Williamson, Steve Bullock, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard and John Delaney.
“Hours after New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ended her 2020 campaign, it was revealed that Mayor Bill de Blasio was still short of threshold to qualify for the next Democratic debate,” noted CBS News. “Facing a midnight deadline to show both the fundraising and polling needed to reach the fall debates, de Blasio had reportedly failed to hit either mark.”
The debate will air on the ABC television network, on Univision with Spanish translation, and on ABC News Live, the network’s streaming channel. It will also be available on the ABCNews.com website and apps, as well as Hulu Live, The Roku Channel, and Facebook Watch, among other outlets.
The DNC and ABC previously announced that the third debate will take place on September 12 in Houston, Texas.
“While the June and July debates featured 20 contenders split over two nights, the third will take place in just one night after half the field failed to meet a higher qualification bar of 130,000 individual donors and an average of 2% support in four approved polls,” reported Crain’s New York Business.
“The pared-down debate sets the stage for a winnowing of the Democratic field. It will be difficult for those on the sidelines to maintain momentum in their campaigns as donors and supporters transfer their allegiance to more viable candidates. While some will try to qualify for the next forum in October, others are likely to see their failure to make the stage in Houston as a signal to withdraw from the race,” Crain’s added.
