The qualifying criteria for the next Democratic debate are out, and they manage to exclude the only veteran and only woman of color left in the race: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii).
This afternoon, Politico reported that the candidates still in the running for the Democratic presidential nomination will need to have earned at least 20 percent of the delegates awarded thus far in order to participate in the March 15 debate hosted by CNN and Univision in Phoenix, Arizona.
That means that only former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), who respectively have 48 percent and 41 percent of the delegates so far, will be on next Sunday’s stage.
Despite her strong showing in the American Samoa caucuses where she won two delegates, Gabbard still falls short of that very high threshold.
Had the Democratic National Committee stuck with its criteria for the last debate it held on February 25—which only required each candidate to have won a single delegate—Gabbard would have qualified.
Watch: As Walls Close in, Schiff’s Own Words Come Back to Haunt Him in Resurfaced Pardon Video He Wishes Didn’t Exist
What to know about the Freedom 250 UFC fight on the White House lawn
Left-Wing Mob, Violent Threats Force Erika Kirk to Miss TPUSA Event with JD Vance
Trump reveals he has multi-pick SCOTUS plan ready as retirement speculation heats up
WATCH: Ex-NATO chief draws red line as Trump fumes alliance abandoned US during Iran war
Jeanine Pirro accused of trying to ‘circumvent’ Jerome Powell investigation through unprompted Fed ‘tour’
Millions tap Trump tax cuts this filing season as refunds top $3,400
Trump-Tillis tiff deepens as president says he ‘quit,’ concedes Fed fight could doom new chair confirmation
Man with Joker-inspired rifle fires gun, runs into traffic near Trump golf course, deputies say
Bahamian authorities plan to suspend search for missing American woman amid US Coast Guard criminal probe
Trump Says China Is ‘Very Happy’ With What He’s Doing With the Strait of Hormuz and Has Agreed to Comply
Sanity Is Returning: Teens Identifying as ‘Nonbinary’ Has Crashed 70 Percent in 2 Years Among CA 16-Year-Olds
Federal judge hands Biden’s home state a loss in battle of ICE access to labor data
Watch: Biden Drags College Administrator Up to Podium to Compare Him to Obama
Vance anti-fraud task force suspends 447 hospices in Los Angeles over more than $600M in suspected fraud
DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa foreshadowed this decision on Super Tuesday, saying on Twitter that “by the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated. The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has.”
We have two more debates– of course the threshold will go up. By the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated. The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has.
— Xochitl Hinojosa (@XochitlHinojosa) March 4, 2020
In response to the expected rule change, Gabbard tweeted Thursday about her campaign’s foreign policy focus, and how that can’t be separated from the domestic issues that have gotten the most attention in past debates.
Watch: As Walls Close in, Schiff’s Own Words Come Back to Haunt Him in Resurfaced Pardon Video He Wishes Didn’t Exist
What to know about the Freedom 250 UFC fight on the White House lawn
Left-Wing Mob, Violent Threats Force Erika Kirk to Miss TPUSA Event with JD Vance
Trump reveals he has multi-pick SCOTUS plan ready as retirement speculation heats up
WATCH: Ex-NATO chief draws red line as Trump fumes alliance abandoned US during Iran war
Jeanine Pirro accused of trying to ‘circumvent’ Jerome Powell investigation through unprompted Fed ‘tour’
Millions tap Trump tax cuts this filing season as refunds top $3,400
Trump-Tillis tiff deepens as president says he ‘quit,’ concedes Fed fight could doom new chair confirmation
Man with Joker-inspired rifle fires gun, runs into traffic near Trump golf course, deputies say
Bahamian authorities plan to suspend search for missing American woman amid US Coast Guard criminal probe
Trump Says China Is ‘Very Happy’ With What He’s Doing With the Strait of Hormuz and Has Agreed to Comply
Sanity Is Returning: Teens Identifying as ‘Nonbinary’ Has Crashed 70 Percent in 2 Years Among CA 16-Year-Olds
Federal judge hands Biden’s home state a loss in battle of ICE access to labor data
Watch: Biden Drags College Administrator Up to Podium to Compare Him to Obama
Vance anti-fraud task force suspends 447 hospices in Los Angeles over more than $600M in suspected fraud
I welcome the opportunity to raise & discuss the foreign policy challenges we face, like the new cold war/nuclear arms race, Turkey's efforts to drag the U.S. into a war with Russia over Syria, the coronavirus, & more. Domestic policy cannot be separated from foreign policy. https://t.co/jgVxSz1huX
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 5, 2020
Biden and Sanders have sparred in the past over the former’s initial support for the Iraq War, so there is some chance that the two candidates’ contrasting foreign policy visions will be on display come the next debate.
Still, it might have been interesting to have Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, up on stage to offer her own unique perspective on foreign policy. She’s repeatedly argued that rising tensions between the U.S., Russia, and China is putting the country on the road to nuclear war.
A Bernie-Biden smackdown will likely feature less talk of a nuclear apocalypse and a lot more bickering about health care. That’s enough to get anyone running for their fall out shelter.
Story cited here.
