For a while now it seemed as if the November Democratic debate could be limited to just 6 candidates. Then some poll numbers improved, and the list bumped up to 7 candidates, then 9 candidates. However, with some good polling numbers coming in late, there will now be 10 candidates on stage this month in the next debate coming up just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has become the tenth candidate to qualify which means we will see a debate stage that closely resembles the stage we saw in October, minus Julian Castro or Beto O’Rourke.
MSNBC/Washington Post Democratic Debate (Fifth Debate)
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Time: 9 pm ET (6 pm PT)
Live Stream: MSNBC.com
Location: Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
Sponsors: MSNBC, The Washington Post
Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Kristen Welker, and Ashley Parker
November Debate Candidates
Barring unforeseen circumstances, this will be the final list of candidates for the Nov. 20 Democratic debate:
| Num | Candidate | Polls AND Donors | Donors Only | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Biden | ✓ | ||||
| 2 | Pete Buttigieg | ✓ | ||||
| 3 | Kamala Harris | ✓ | ||||
| 4 | Bernie Sanders | ✓ | ||||
| 5 | Elizabeth Warren | ✓ | ||||
| 6 | Cory Booker | ✓ | ||||
| 7 | Tom Steyer | ✓ | ||||
| 8 | Andrew Yang | ✓ | ||||
| 9 | Amy Klobuchar | ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Tulsi Gabbard | ✓ | ||||
| Not Qualified | ||||||
| 11 | Julian Castro | ✓ | ||||
| 12 | Michael Bennet | |||||
| 13 | Steve Bullock | |||||
| 14 | John Delaney | |||||
| 15 | Tim Ryan | |||||
| 16 | Joe Sestak | |||||
| 17 | Marianne Williamson | |||||
According to analysis from FiveThirtyEight, it looks like the door will close with Gabbard joining the stage since none of the other major candidates are actually close to qualifying:
Of the six other “major” candidates1 who haven’t yet qualified but are still in the race, not one has a single qualifying poll for the fifth debate. Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro has met the donor threshold, but he’s had no such luck in the polling department, so watch out — Castro might drop out soon, as he has said it will be “the end of my campaign” if he doesn’t make the stage.
To qualify for November, candidates must hit at least 3 percent in four qualifying state or national polls or 5 percent in two qualifying state polls. The fundraising threshold requires candidates to have received contributions from 165,000 unique donors, including 600 unique donors in 20 states.
The deadline for qualifying polls and donations for the November debate will be November 13 at 11:59 pm, according to the DNC.
In all likelihood, Castro will drop out of the race this month as it’s unlikely he’ll get any dramatic poll numbers over the next few days to justify a continued campaign.
November Debate Format
NBC News has released some details about how the debate will be formatted. The event, held over two hours, will be broken up into four segments with only three commercial breaks during the broadcast.
NBC has decided to ax opening statements to allow more time for actual questions. There will, however, be time allotted for each candidate to make a “closing argument,” as NBC calls it.
During the debate, candidates will have 75 seconds to answers questions posed to them and 45 seconds for follow-ups at the moderators’ discretion. Candidates will also be able to respond if they’re referred to or attacked by another candidate, but that will also be at the moderators’ discretion.
Follow the Democratic debate schedule page for the latest information.
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