The DNC has adjusted the Democratic presidential primary debate requirements for the Wednesday, February 19 televised debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the new requirements have left an opening for Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, to make his first appearance alongside the remaining presidential hopefuls.
According to Politico, the DNC has removed the small-donor requirement, which was in effect starting in September 2019, to participate in the debates. The requirement had previously prohibited Bloomberg, who does not collect money from small donors, from attending the debates once he launched his late-start campaign in November.
The new debate criteria lays out a specific path for Bloomberg, who now only has to register at 10% in four polls from January 15 to February 18 to appear on stage. Bloomberg has continued to grow in polls across the country, and is currently registering at an average of 8%, according to RealClearPolitics.
The new qualification criteria also opens up the debate stage to anyone who receives 12% in two South Carolina or Nevada polls, or receives a single delegate in Iowa or New Hampshire; However, because Bloomberg has taken the unorthodox step of not participating in any elections prior to Super Tuesday on March 3, neither of these avenues are available to him.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has condemned the move by the DNC as setting “different rules” for the super rich, a group she loves to demonize.
“The DNC didn’t change the rules to ensure good, diverse candidates could remain on the debate stage. They shouldn’t change the rules to let a billionaire on. Billionaires shouldn’t be allowed to play by different rules – on the debate stage, in our democracy, or in our government,” said Warren in a tweet Friday evening.
However, as Politico reported, Warren’s “progressive allies” have previously “approached” the DNC “to lobby for an unusual cause: including billionaire Mike Bloomberg” in the upcoming debates.
Adam Green, a surrogate for Warren and co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, described the initiative, saying, “I think he’ll inherently get more scrutiny when he’s playing in the same sandbox. … But there’s still more scrutiny that can come now and voters want it.”
The Bloomberg campaign has responded positively to the new debate requirements.
“We are thrilled that voters could soon have the chance to see Mike Bloomberg on the debate stage, hear his vision for the country, and see why he is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump and bring our country together,” Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg’s campaign manager, said in a statement, according to The New York Times.
The DNC has also defended the rule change, saying that once the primary voting contests begin, grassroots activism, which was previously implied via the small-donor threshold, will now have more tangible effects through delegate counts.
“Now that the grassroots support is actually captured in real voting, the criteria will no longer require a donor threshold,” Adrienne Watson, a DNC spokesperson, told Politico.
“The donor threshold was appropriate for the opening stages of the race, when candidates were building their organizations, and there were no metrics available outside of polling to distinguish those making progress from those who weren’t,” said Watson, reports the news agency.