Fourth Democratic Debate Set For October 15 In Ohio

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Saturday that the October Democratic debate, the fourth debate in the process, will be held on October 15 with the possibility to span over two nights if more than ten candidates qualify. The participation rules for the fourth debate are identical to the third debate.

The deadline for polls and fundraising qualifications for the fourth debate will be on October 1.

Politico reports on the October debate announcement from the DNC:

The fourth Democratic presidential primary debate will be held on Oct. 15 and 16 in Ohio, according to a memo the Democratic National Committee sent to presidential campaigns.

The memo, which was obtained by POLITICO, says the second night will only be held if necessary. The DNC has previously said it will not have more than 10 candidates on stage at a time.

Candidates can qualify for the debate through Oct. 1, the memo read.

The DNC has not yet released the name of the media partner or any further details. All we know at this point is that the debate will take place in Ohio, but a specific city and venue have not yet been named.

Candidates need to reach two percent in four approved polls and receive donations from 130,000 unique donors. Candidates who qualified for the September debate automatically qualify for the October one, and candidates who missed out have an additional month to meet the requirements, meaning the stage is expected to grow.

There are ten candidates set for September, which means that unless any of those candidates drop out of the campaign, they’re already booked for the October debate as well.

All eyes will be on billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the two candidates who almost made the September debate but fell short on the required number of qualifying polls. At this point, Steyer only needs one more qualifying poll and Gabbard is searching for two.

Author Marianne Williamson also made the donor requirement, but still requires three more qualifying polls of at least 2% support to make the October debate stage.

With an entire month to go before the October debate deadline, it’s very possible that the fourth debate will span over two nights, the 15th and 16th.

More details about the October Democratic debate will be released in coming days from the DNC and we’ll keep you updated at our 2020 Democratic Debate schedule page.