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.
Mullin vows ‘zero change’ on immigration after Republicans suffer crushing midterm losses
Twice-deported illegal immigrant accused of trying to storm United cockpit, threatening bomb: DHS
Democratic Congresswoman Threatens Military Members ‘Down the Chain’ from Pete Hegseth with Investigations
Anti-Israel agitators swarm Biden in Ireland and hurl object at motorcade
This Midterm Result Should Give You Hope: Voters Passed Wave of Conservative Policies Nov. 3, Even as They Crushed GOP
IRGC operative lands on FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list over alleged plot to kill former Trump advisor
Migrants Marching Toward US Southern Border Are More ‘Hopeful’ Following Blue Wave: CNN
A New Name Has Risen to the Top of Trump’s White House Press Secretary Shortlist: Report
Incoming Congressman Says Senior Democrats Are Trying to Threaten Him Into Backing Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker
Dem Robert Garcia Explains Rationale Behind Weaponizing Government: ‘Maybe It’s Because I’m Gay’
‘Forget 2028’: Senate GOP braces for a long stretch in the minority
New Michigan Mayor’s Swearing-In Shows How Far State Has Fallen
Will TX Republicans Use Their Majority to Strip Incoming Dems of Power? Here’s Why They Should
House GOP leaders block Massie’s Hegseth impeachment push
Ilhan Omar huddles with her DC-based lawyers during her first day back on Capitol Hill amid federal probes
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.
Mullin vows ‘zero change’ on immigration after Republicans suffer crushing midterm losses
Twice-deported illegal immigrant accused of trying to storm United cockpit, threatening bomb: DHS
Democratic Congresswoman Threatens Military Members ‘Down the Chain’ from Pete Hegseth with Investigations
Anti-Israel agitators swarm Biden in Ireland and hurl object at motorcade
This Midterm Result Should Give You Hope: Voters Passed Wave of Conservative Policies Nov. 3, Even as They Crushed GOP
IRGC operative lands on FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list over alleged plot to kill former Trump advisor
Migrants Marching Toward US Southern Border Are More ‘Hopeful’ Following Blue Wave: CNN
A New Name Has Risen to the Top of Trump’s White House Press Secretary Shortlist: Report
Incoming Congressman Says Senior Democrats Are Trying to Threaten Him Into Backing Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker
Dem Robert Garcia Explains Rationale Behind Weaponizing Government: ‘Maybe It’s Because I’m Gay’
‘Forget 2028’: Senate GOP braces for a long stretch in the minority
New Michigan Mayor’s Swearing-In Shows How Far State Has Fallen
Will TX Republicans Use Their Majority to Strip Incoming Dems of Power? Here’s Why They Should
House GOP leaders block Massie’s Hegseth impeachment push
Ilhan Omar huddles with her DC-based lawyers during her first day back on Capitol Hill amid federal probes
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.
