The second round of the Democrats' presidential debates this month is expected to include just about the same 20 candidates as the first go-around, the New York Post is reporting.
But the third round of debates – scheduled for Sept. 12 and-13 — could see the number of participants cut in half.
Requirements for qualifying for the first two rounds of debates included collecting from 65,000 donors or registering at least 1% in three polls. But the rules toughen for the third round. They mandate that candidates earn at least 2% in four distinct polls and have 130,000 donors. Four hundred of those donors have to come from at least 20 states.
According to the Post, only six candidates look like a sure thing so far.
Former Vice President Joe Biden already has 256,000 donors. And South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has more than 400,000 donors. Campaign officials for Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke say they have also met the threshold.
And entrepreneur Andrew Yang has also passed the mark, the newspaper reported.
Polling that counts for the third debates began on June 28. And only nine candidates polled 2% or higher in at least one of the three national polls that came out this week, the Post noted.
On the cusp are Sen. Cory Booker, who had 3% in polls by CNN and Quinnipiac, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar received 2% in CNN and ABC polls. Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro collected 3% in an ABC poll.
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