Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Qualifies for Next 2020 Debate

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) listens to a question during a campaign stop in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Oct. 1, 2019. Charles Krupa/AP Photo

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) qualified for the upcoming Democratic presidential debate, getting the fourth poll she needed on Wednesday.

Gabbard hit 3 percent support in a Quinnipiac University poll conducted among likely Democratic caucus voters in Iowa.

Gabbard was behind six other candidates and tied with two others but hit the threshold the Democratic National Committee set for the Nov. 20 debate, which was getting 3 percent or more support in four different polls conducted by certain polling organizations.

Ten candidates have now qualified for the next debate: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Gabbard, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), billionaire Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Former Obama administration official Julian Castro, who appeared in the October debate, has not qualified as of yet. The deadline is Nov. 13 at 11:59 p.m.

Beto O'Rourke, a former U.S. representative representing Texas, was also on stage last month but dropped out of the presidential race last week.

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) speaks to the media as he visits the outside of a detention center for migrant children in Homestead, Florida, on Jun. 27, 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A number of other candidates remain in the race but have not appeared in recent debates after failing to make the thresholds. They include Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), former Rep. John Delaney (R-Md.), and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock.

The debate will be held at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

The qualifying criteria, introduced by the Democratic National Committee, has two components: fundraising numbers and polling.

Candidates must get at least 3 percent support in four different state or national polls or at least 5 percent support in two qualifying state polls. Only polls from certain polling organizations are counted by the committee.

Candidates also need to get donations from at least 165,000 unique donors, including 600 unique donors in at least 20 states.

Democratic presidential candidates on stage at Otterbein University in Ohio on Oct. 15, 2019. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Nov. 20 debate will feature four moderators: MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell, NBC reporter Kristen Welker, and Washington Post reporter Ashley Parker.

Six candidates have qualified so far for the December debate—Biden, Buttigieg, Harris, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren.

The Quinnipiac poll shows that many voters are still open to changing their minds on their preferred candidate just a few months before the Democratic caucus.

“A close race with a crowded field of frontrunners. While Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, and Senator Bernie Sanders have held top tier status in national polls for months, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg joins their ranks in the 2020 Iowa caucus,” said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Mary Snow in a statement.

“And it’s a race that is up for grabs. Half of likely Democratic caucus-goers who support a candidate say they may change their minds before February 3rd.”