Democratic presidential candidates who appear to have missed qualifying for the next round of debates are striking out at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), accusing the group—which underwent turmoil when a leak showed it favored Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2016—of unfairly winnowing the field as the campaign intensifies less than six months before the first primary.
Candidates needed donations from 130,000 donors and at least 2 percent support in four different polls, with only certain polling organizations and national polls or surveys in early primary states allowed.
The campaign of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who was on active duty during the past two weeks, took aim at the polling requirement. Gabbard’s campaign said she received support of 2 percent or more in 26 national and early state polls, but only two were counted.
One of the polls that Gabbard scored enough in—at 3 percent—was the only live telephone poll conducted in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in the nation. The survey, from The Boston Globe and Suffolk University, isn’t counted by the DNC.
“Many of the uncertified polls, including those conducted by highly reputable organizations such as The Economist and the Boston Globe, are ranked by Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight as more accurate than some DNC ‘certified’ polls,” the campaign stated.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, who easily made the donor count after pouring in millions of his own money into advertisements, also had issues with the polling criteria. Steyer needs just one more poll to qualify.
Steyer’s campaign said the committee should “expand their polling criteria to include more qualifying polling, including at least one poll in Nevada before the deadline next week.”
“As a party, we want to ensure the will of the voters is respected,” the campaign stated.
Rep. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) has called the rules restrictive, arguing the DNC is “stifling debate.”
Some candidates who have already qualified have said they’re OK with the rules.
“I’m a little bit biased because I’m making the fall debates, so I think the rules are fine,” businessman Andrew Yang, who has been rising in the polls, told Fox News on Aug. 26. “I think the DNC has been very fair and open and transparent.”
“The rules have been out there for us all to see for months, and if you were going to complain about the criteria, you would probably want to complain about it a little bit earlier in the process to make it seem like it’s not purely self-interested,” he said.
Besides Yang, the debate will feature former and current politicians, including the frontrunners in the polls: former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), former Obama administration Housing Secretary Julián Castro, and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) make up the rest of the 10.
Three contenders have dropped out recently after struggling to gain traction: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).
The rest of the field that hasn’t qualified for the debate outside of Gabbard, Steyer, and Bullock are Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio); Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); author Marianne Williamson; former Maryland Rep. John Delaney; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak; Rep. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.); and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam.