The first Democratic Debate of 2020 is just around the corner, with the January debate set to take place on Tuesday, January 14 in Des Moines, Iowa. With the increased requirements to reach the debate stage being announced by the Democratic National Committee, we are expected to have our smallest group of candidates to-date on the debate stage.
To qualify for the January debate, candidates had to receive contributions from 225,000 unique donors. In addition, the candidates had to have one of two polling requirements: two polls at 7 percent or more in the four early nominating states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina; or four polls at 5 percent or more in early nominating states or national surveys.
Currently, there have only been six candidates to reach the requirements:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Billionaire Tom Steyer
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
That means billionaire Tom Steyer and businessman Andrew Yang, who participated in the December debate, have some work to do until the January 10 cut-off date to reach the qualifications.
The January debate is scheduled to take place at Drake University on Tuesday, January 14. The debate — hosted by CNN and The Des Moines Register — will be the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses.
Additional debates in the early primary season will include (via the New York Times):
- Friday, Feb. 7: A debate in Manchester, N.H., hosted by ABC News, WMUR and Apple News at St. Anselm College.
- Tuesday, Feb. 11: The New Hampshire primary.
- Wednesday, Feb. 19: A debate in Las Vegas, hosted by NBC News, MSNBC and The Nevada Independent.
- Saturday, Feb. 22: The Nevada Democratic caucuses.
- Tuesday, Feb. 25: A debate in Charleston, S.C., hosted by CBS News, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Twitter at the Gaillard Center.
- Saturday, Feb. 29: The South Carolina Democratic primary.