November Debate Taking Shape With Eight Qualifiers

[bluewater]

Even as contestants prepare for next week’s 12-candidate Democratic debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, the November event is beginning to come together as well, as NBC News reports:

MSNBC and The Washington Post will co-host the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate in Georgia next month, MSNBC announced Tuesday.

The debate will take place in prime time on Nov. 20, and will air live on MSNBC and Radio One. It will also stream on MSNBC.com and the Post’s website, as well as across mobile devices via NBC News and the Post’s mobile apps and Urban One’s digital platforms.

The specific location, venue, format and moderators will be announced at a later date.
The Democratic National Committee toughened the polling and fundraising thresholds for this fifth debate, as I noted last month:

The thresholds for “grassroots fundraising” didn’t change that much: Candidates must now show they have at some point in the cycle raised money from 160,000 donors (as opposed to 130,000, previously) with at least 600 (previously 400) in 20 states….

Nor will the new polling requirements (3 percent in four specified national or early state polls, or 5 percent in two early state polls, beginning with polls taken last week and running until seven days before the November debate) represent a problem for the stronger candidates, who almost always poll above three percent (a group that currently includes Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, and Kamala Harris. But some next-tier hopefuls could experience some problems.

At this point, eight candidates have qualified for the November stage: the aforementioned five polling champs, plus Cory Booker, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang (who got his fourth qualifying poll just today). Others have until November 13 to make the cut.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/10/november-debate-whos-in-whos-out.html

[crazytown]

1. The DNC showed it was not interested in 'debates'

when it opted for 12 on one stage in October. These are media circus pageants.

[Celerity]

2. I am staggered they opted to have all 12 on the same stage, what a potential clusterfuck

[Garrett78]

3. On the other hand, it would be going backward to have 2 groups debate separately in October...

...after finally having all of the major candidates share a stage for the first time in September. 12 on stage is ridiculous, but so is needing 2 nights at this juncture.

What really needs to happen is for Gabbard (who's just plain nuts), Steyer (who is simply buying his way onto the debate stage), Tim Ryan (seriously, why the fuck is he still running?) and others to let go of ego and just call it quits. Better candidates than they (such as Inslee) have already dropped out.

[Blue_true]

4. Plus, if the DNC broke up the debate, it would get accused of being unfair to

someone's favorite candidate. What needs to happen is that candidates that have no chance of being nominated need to drop out NOW!!!