Amy Klobuchar says she's qualified for next Democratic debate: Here's who else is expected be on stage
Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign said the senator has met the qualifications to participate in the next Democratic debates in September, according to an announcement made Friday morning.
Following her most recent debate in Detroit Tuesday night, Klobuchar just needed to surpass the 130,000 donor threshold, which the campaign said was accomplished Thursday. According to an ABC News analysis, she has already met the other requirement: scoring at least 2% support in four polls sponsored by a Democratic National Committee-approved organization.
According to an ABC News analysis, the three-term senator from Minnesota is expected to join former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., former Rep, Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in Houston on Sept. 12 and 13 for the third primary debate, which has higher qualifying thresholds since the first round of debates in June and July.
ABC News, in partnership with Univision, is hosting the Houston debate.
According to rules outlined by the DNC, candidates must meet both the grassroots fundraising threshold, which stands at 130,000 unique donors, including 400 unique donors per state across at least 20 states, and the polling threshold in order to qualify for the September and October debates. Candidates must get at least 2% support in four national polls or polls out of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and/or Nevada sponsored by different organizations, or if sponsored by the same organization, polls conducted in different geographical areas. The qualifying polls must fall between June 28 and August 28 and also be sponsored by an organization approved by the DNC.
A handful of other candidates are also close to qualifying, including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and businessman Andrew Yang, who have both met the donor threshold, according to their campaigns, and who both only need one more qualifying poll, according to an ABC News analysis.
The latest candidate to enter the race, activist Tom Steyer, has already secured two qualifying polls, according to an ABC News analysis. His campaign claimed to ABC News to be on schedule to reach the grassroots fundraising threshold, but hasn't provided any concrete numbers regarding the number of unique donors he has.
As of late Thursday night, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard had 128,403 unique donors, according to a tweet she sent out asking for more donations. She still needs 2% support in three qualifying polls, according to an ABC News analysis.
Author Marianne Williamson has no qualifying polls yet, according to an ABC News analysis, but needs fewer than 29,000 additional donors to meet the grassroots fundraising threshold, according to a tracker on her website.
Candidates have until 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 28 to qualify for the September debate. The qualifying window for the October debate will be released "in the future," according to the DNC.
