Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) revealed on Thursday morning that she has officially qualified to participate in the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) fifth presidential primary debate in Georgia.
“We just qualified for the November Democratic debate! Thanks to everyone for working so hard, making a small donation, and helping us grow our momentum,” Klobuchar said on Twitter. “We’ve made so much progress, but we need to keep going. Donate to our campaign today!”
We just qualified for the November Democratic debate! Thanks to everyone for working so hard, making a small donation, and helping us grow our momentum. We’ve made so much progress, but we need to keep going. Donate to our campaign today! https://t.co/iVg91M9DTq
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) October 24, 2019
A certified poll conducted by Quinnipiac University shows that the Minnesota lawmaker received 3% support in the nationwide contest. The poll, released on Tuesday, marks the final benchmark that she needed to overcome on order to receive an invitation onto the stage.
Klobuchar enjoyed a surge of attention and fundraising in the wake of her performance in last week’s debate in Ohio. The three-term senator has positioned herself as one of the more moderate Democrats seeking the party’s nomination.
While appearing on the debate stage, Klobuchar clashed with her progressive rivals and publicly criticized their signature policy proposal, Medicare for All. She notably attacked Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for not being forthcoming with the American people and failing to admit that she would likely have to raise taxes in order to help fund the estimated $34 trillion plan.
In the 24 hours following the debate, Klobuchar’s campaign announced that it had generated $1.1 million in donations, making it the best day of online fundraising yet. The money is a significant haul for Klobuchar, who reported $4.8 million in third quarter donations and $3.9 million in second quarter donations.
Klobuchar is now the ninth presidential hopeful to meet the qualifying threshold and subsequently accept an invitation onto the debate stage: Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), financier Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and entrepreneur Andrew Yang will also be participating.
In order to nab a podium on the upcoming Georgia debate stage, presidential hopefuls must raise campaign donations from no fewer than 165,000 individual donors. In addition, they must also receive at least 3% of the vote in four general DNC-approved polls and 5% in two early-state polls – such as those in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina.
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), and former House and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro all participated in October’s debate, but have not yet qualified for any future debates. While all three Democratic contenders have met the donor benchmark, they are still short of meeting the polling threshold.
To date, O’Rourke, Gabbard, and Castro have received 3% support in two, one, and zero DNC-approved polls, respectively. None of these candidates have hit 5% in an early voting state poll. Candidates still have until November 13 to reach the required threshold and qualify.
November’s debate will be presented jointly by MSNBC and The Washington Post on November 20. MSNBC revealed earlier in the week that the debate moderators will consist of an all-female panel: Rachel Maddow from MSNBC, Ashley Parker from The Washington Post, and both Andrea Mitchell and Kristen Welker from NBC News.