DNC Raises The Bar On Third Debate Qualifications, Likely Winnowing Field

during the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ahead of Election Day on November 8.
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 19: The podiums on stage seen prior to the start of the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ah... LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 19: The podiums on stage seen prior to the start of the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ahead of Election Day on November 8. (Photo by Mark Ralston-Pool/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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ABC News will hold the third Democratic debate in September, and the DNC will institute stiffer prerequisites than it has for the first two.

According to Politico, candidates will have to meet both a polling and fundraising threshold, whereas for the first two debates, presidential hopefuls only had to check one of those boxes. For ABC’s debate, they will have to have reached two percent in four polls and have 130,000 unique donors.

Per Politico, at this point, only eight candidates have met the polling standard: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX).

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