It appears Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii fell short of qualifying for the Dec. 19 Democratic debate in California while entrepreneur Andrew Yang squeezed out a last-minute qualification with a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday putting him at 4% nationally.
The seven presidential hopefuls who will appear on stage are:
- Joe Biden
- Bernie Sanders
- Elizabeth Warren
- Pete Buttigieg
- Amy Klobuchar
- Tom Steyer
- Andrew Yang
Gabbard released a statement saying she didn't plan to participate in the debate even if she qualified, suggesting that she didn't plan on qualifying in the first place.
In order to secure a spot, candidates had to have raised funds from at least 200,000 unique donors and reached a polling threshold of either 4% in four DNC-sanctioned polls or 6% in two DNC-sanctioned, early-state polls.
The December debate will feature a lot less diversity than past debates have. Although California Sen. Kamala Harris qualified to appear on stage, she dropped out of the race. Other candidates of color, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, have failed to meet the threshold.