News Opinons Politics

DNC Changes Debate Qualifications, Excluding Tulsi Gabbard

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.


Op-Ed: I’ll Believe it When I See it – How Liberal Santa Scams the Nation
Minnesota Senate candidate wears hijab in visit to Somali market as fraud scandal unfolds
As UK Locks Up Citizens for Speech, Jimmy Kimmel Shares Christmas Message with Them About Trump’s So-Called ‘Fascism’
Most radical courses, curriculum that received federal funding in 2025
Trump Sends Room Into Roaring Laughter Responding to Kid Who Didn’t Want Coal for Christmas
Booker says Gabbard ‘endangering’ NJ with remarks on radical Islam, heavily-Muslim city; deputy responds
Kentucky congressman announces death of longtime aide and campaign manager
JonBenet Ramsey case could benefit from new DNA technology as police renew commitment
Unreliable: The Epstein Tipster Claiming Trump Was a Rapist Also Claimed a Man Fired by Hillary Clinton Tried to Frame Him for the 1995 OKC Bombing
Trump launches Christmas night airstrikes in Nigeria and more top headlines
Trump matches Biden’s first year of US attorney nominees despite high-profile setbacks
House lawmakers reflect on their memorable moments in Congress
Trump Announces Christmas Day Strikes on Islamic Terrorists Involved in Nigerian Christian Genocide
Nebraska grandfather killed in ‘freak accident’ at McDonald’s drive-thru
Ultra High Level Democrat Influencer Calls for Violence Against ‘Dead Man Walking’ Trump on Christmas Eve – Calls on People to ‘Put Him to Sleep’

See also  Proceedings paused against ‘Zizian’ murder suspect following competency claims

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.”

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.


Op-Ed: I’ll Believe it When I See it – How Liberal Santa Scams the Nation
Minnesota Senate candidate wears hijab in visit to Somali market as fraud scandal unfolds
As UK Locks Up Citizens for Speech, Jimmy Kimmel Shares Christmas Message with Them About Trump’s So-Called ‘Fascism’
Most radical courses, curriculum that received federal funding in 2025
Trump Sends Room Into Roaring Laughter Responding to Kid Who Didn’t Want Coal for Christmas
Booker says Gabbard ‘endangering’ NJ with remarks on radical Islam, heavily-Muslim city; deputy responds
Kentucky congressman announces death of longtime aide and campaign manager
JonBenet Ramsey case could benefit from new DNA technology as police renew commitment
Unreliable: The Epstein Tipster Claiming Trump Was a Rapist Also Claimed a Man Fired by Hillary Clinton Tried to Frame Him for the 1995 OKC Bombing
Trump launches Christmas night airstrikes in Nigeria and more top headlines
Trump matches Biden’s first year of US attorney nominees despite high-profile setbacks
House lawmakers reflect on their memorable moments in Congress
Trump Announces Christmas Day Strikes on Islamic Terrorists Involved in Nigerian Christian Genocide
Nebraska grandfather killed in ‘freak accident’ at McDonald’s drive-thru
Ultra High Level Democrat Influencer Calls for Violence Against ‘Dead Man Walking’ Trump on Christmas Eve – Calls on People to ‘Put Him to Sleep’

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.

See also  Social Security report confirms drastic improvements despite Warren’s disbelief

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.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter