4 Candidates Scrambling to Make the Cut

[bluewater]

These Four Candidates Are Scrambling to Make the Cut for the Next Democratic Debate

Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand and Tom Steyer are getting closer to qualifying, and they’re urgently seeking supporters who can help them earn a spot onstage.

With the deadline to qualify for the next Democratic presidential debates looming just two weeks away, candidates on the bubble are mounting some of their final offensives, urgently seeking supporters who can help them make the cut.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has poured more than $1 million into advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire. Julián Castro, the former housing secretary, bought a local ad in Bedminster, N.J., where President Trump is vacationing this week. And Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has urged her supporters to try to improve their chances of being selected for online polls.

They and other lower-tier candidates are desperately searching for voters who can propel them to 2 percent support in qualifying polls, one of the Democratic National Committee’s requirements for the next set of debates, scheduled for Sept. 12 and 13 in Houston. The threshold for the June and July debates was merely 1 percent.

[Andrew Yang became the ninth Democrat to qualify for the September debates.]

Meanwhile, Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund investor turned impeachment activist, has spent millions of dollars flooding the internet with ads that have helped him catch up to his rivals after entering the race in July. On Tuesday his campaign announced that he had crossed the other threshold for qualification by collecting donations from more than 130,000 people.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/us/politics/next-democratic-debate-candidates.html?searchResultPosition=1

[PatrickforO]

1. So, basically the field is to be cut in half.

I cannot say that is a bad thing, though I will say this. When I looked at those folks up on stage both nights of both debates, I saw some really, really good cabinet possibilities.

What's that the Kurgan said when he tried to slay Connor McLeod in The Highlander?

[thesquanderer]

8. Yes, 9-13 for Sept, but could go up again for the following one,

because it as a larger time window for meeting qualifications. Every one in the next one is already qualified for the one after, but some others could join them if the extra time allows them to meet the qualifications.

[question everything]

2. Saw an ad of him on CNN, or MSNBC, don't remember

The first time that I saw any presidential ad, not living in Iowa or NH..

[Life_Long_Democrat]

3. Would love to see Castro make

Don’t really care if the others do.

[TexasTowelie]

4. I'm surprised that nobody has stopped by to say

that Castro should withdraw from the race and run for the U.S. Senate seat for Texas.

[dalton99a]

7. +1

Castro's support in Texas is probably limited to his base in San Antonio

[pinkstarburst]

5. With all due respect for the

candidates hoping to get in, I'm sure they would love to get on the stage and have some great ideas they hope to add to the discussion... but the format at the last two debates was a little too chaotic for my tastes with so many people crowding each night, shouting over each other's answers so I couldn't hear what was being said, and the tone of having lower tier candidates delivering zingers at front-runners for two hours in the hopes of getting a sound bite, rather than there being time to discuss the differences in the policies they hope to implement.

So while I thought the first two debates were great because they gave 20 people a chance on stage, at some point, we should gradually be narrowing things down. Cutting it down to 9-10 sounds about right. Hopefully for the debates after October it will be narrowed down even further. It's really hard to explain the nuances in your health care policy in a 60 second answer.

[SouthernProgressive]

6. I would like to see one of the three make the cut.

Castro. His voice is really important when it comes to understanding the way people are held down and how society makes it almost impossible for some to realize vertical movement in the economy. I also love his understanding of economics. Castro will have a high power position in the next administration. Gabbard just needs to drop out and endorse Sanders. As much as I like Gillibrand she screwed up big time with Franken. There is no role for Steyer to fill. We already have candidates that have cornered his positions and we don't need a billionaire businessman with no governmental experience.