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.
DOJ urges judge to reject lawmakers’ bid for special master in Epstein files dispute
Cancer-stricken children urge Bernie Sanders to back life-saving pediatric healthcare bill
Hunter Biden accused of ghosting daughter with Lunden Roberts and violating child support agreement
Colbert Reminds Us Why He Was Canceled, Smears ICE Agents as ‘Masked Goons’ Who Are ‘Victimizing’ Minnesota
Climate Alarmist Kamala Harris Buys Malibu Mansion Overlooking the Ocean She Recently Said Was Rising
ICE releases photos after violent Minneapolis protests leave multiple alleged agitators arrested
Reality TV star declares 2026 Austin mayoral run, learns live on TV election is in 2028
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Virginia nanny’s story, dentist murders charges, Barry Morphew’s plea
Trump: It was ‘very nice’ of Machado to give me her Nobel Peace Prize
Libs Pounce on Trump’s ‘No Midterms’ Joke, but Forget They Seriously Called to End Midterms Under Obama
‘Worthless piece of crap’: GOP blasts DNC chief for equating Trump’s America with Iran’s repressive regime
Democrats claim shutdown victory after GOP defections revive Obamacare fight
WATCH: Hegseth Exhausts Japan’s Defense Minister with Intense Workout – US Medical Personnel to the Rescue
Canada drops US-aligned tariffs on Chinese EVs in ‘landmark’ trade deal
Unity wins out as Republicans swallow $643M in funding for Trump-opposed media agency
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.
DOJ urges judge to reject lawmakers’ bid for special master in Epstein files dispute
Cancer-stricken children urge Bernie Sanders to back life-saving pediatric healthcare bill
Hunter Biden accused of ghosting daughter with Lunden Roberts and violating child support agreement
Colbert Reminds Us Why He Was Canceled, Smears ICE Agents as ‘Masked Goons’ Who Are ‘Victimizing’ Minnesota
Climate Alarmist Kamala Harris Buys Malibu Mansion Overlooking the Ocean She Recently Said Was Rising
ICE releases photos after violent Minneapolis protests leave multiple alleged agitators arrested
Reality TV star declares 2026 Austin mayoral run, learns live on TV election is in 2028
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Virginia nanny’s story, dentist murders charges, Barry Morphew’s plea
Trump: It was ‘very nice’ of Machado to give me her Nobel Peace Prize
Libs Pounce on Trump’s ‘No Midterms’ Joke, but Forget They Seriously Called to End Midterms Under Obama
‘Worthless piece of crap’: GOP blasts DNC chief for equating Trump’s America with Iran’s repressive regime
Democrats claim shutdown victory after GOP defections revive Obamacare fight
WATCH: Hegseth Exhausts Japan’s Defense Minister with Intense Workout – US Medical Personnel to the Rescue
Canada drops US-aligned tariffs on Chinese EVs in ‘landmark’ trade deal
Unity wins out as Republicans swallow $643M in funding for Trump-opposed media agency
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.
