As of October 1st, the qualification deadline for the fourth Democratic primary debate has closed, with 12 candidates meeting the criteria to appear on the debate stage, NPR reports.
Like the third debate in September, the October debate had the same set of criteria, with two areas that each candidate had to fulfill: At least 130,000 donors, with at least 400 unique donors per state in 20 or more states, and at least two percent support in four or more national polls recognized by the DNC.
In the previous debate, only 10 candidates qualified: Former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-Ind.), Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), entrepreneur Andrew Yang (D-N.Y.), former Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (D-Texas).
But for the fourth debate, two additional candidates qualified to appear on stage after missing the September event: Billionaire Tom Steyer (D-Calif.) and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).
Of the 19 total candidates remaining in the field, only seven did not qualify: Author Marianne Williamson, who appeared in the first two debates but has not appeared in any further debates, met the donor criteria but qualified in only one poll.
The remaining six candidates – Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo)., Governor Steve Bullock (D-Mont.), former Congressman John Delaney (D-Md.), Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam (D-Fla.), Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), and former Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) – all failed to meet the donor criteria and registered in zero polls. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-N.Y.) was in the same situation when he decided to drop out in late September, shortly after the third debate.