For quite some time now, Democrat candidates who are running in the 2020 presidential election have had to meet various standards. The abundance of candidates, the reality that certain contenders very well-known, and other factors have contributed to the standing of various candidates.
Weeks ago, Americans learned that the requirements for Democrats to appear in the third primary debate would be stricter than those of the first and second debates. Candidates must garner at least 130,000 individual donors and reach at least 2% in four national or early state voting polls.
As time gradually passes by, more and more candidates are realizing that their likelihood of appearing on the third debate stage is getting slimmer and slimmer. Certain Democrats have already bowed out of the race; however, contenders who are still in the running are now pushing for the DNC to lower the bar of entry so they may appear on the debate stage, according to Breitbart News.
The Real Reason Why Certain Democrats Aren’t Happy
Candidates who are struggling to meet the thresholds to appear on the third debate stage include Kirsten Gillibrand, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, Steve Bullock, Michael Bennett, and others. These candidates have known the requirements since their inception; however, the complaints are coming as the aforementioned contenders see that they simply aren’t going to make it.
Therefore, the DNC is now facing appeals to “expand their polling criteria to include more qualifying polling” and “revise their list of debate qualifying polls in light of numerous irregularities in the selection and timing of those polls, to ensure transparency and fairness.” All of these appeals and others are simply low-polling Democrats’ attempts to weasel their way onto a debate stage which they haven’t earned access to.
This is something which 2020 Democrat Andrew Yang alluded to earlier this week. Interestingly enough, Yang is one of the ten Democrats who qualify to appear on the third primary debate stage.
His statements regarding the appeals from other candidates read as follows:
“I’m a little bit biased because I’m making the fall debates so I think the rules are fine…I think the DNC has been very fair and open and transparent. The rules have been out there for us all to see for months. If you were going to complain about the criteria, you would probably want to complain about it a little bit earlier in the process to make it seem like it’s not purely self-interested.”
Will the DNC Revise their Requirements?
At this point, it is highly unlikely that the DNC will lower the bar in order for low-polling Democrats to make it on the third debate stage. Quite frankly, the DNC may very well be attempting to weed out candidates who are merely occupying space in the primary election. Those who fail to make it on the third debate stage may very well drop out within forthcoming weeks.
What do you think of 2020 Democrats asking the DNC to lower the bar of entry to the third primary debate? Sound off in the comments section below!
