After California Sen. Kamala Harris announced she was suspending her campaign for the Democratic nomination and dropping out of the 2020 race for president, many took to Twitter to express sadness and disappointment. It hasn’t been just supporters of Harris, either: As many realize that, as of this writing, only white candidates have qualified for the December Democratic primary debate, they are lamenting the reality that candidates of color are being pushed from the debate stage. Speaking to that precise point, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro spoke with BuzzFeed News about Harris leaving the race—and the reality that he, unlike Harris, hasn’t yet qualified for the next debate.
"I hope that the DNC will reevaluate its threshold" for qualification for debates, Castro said. "What it's resulting in is a lack of diversity on the debate stage. It’s also clear that some have been able to potentially buy their way on stage. I don't think that was the original intention with putting thresholds like this in place, but we need to make sure that voters have the opportunity to hear from a range of candidates."
He was direct when it came to calling out media coverage of Harris too. “To me, they held her to a different standard, a double standard, to other campaigns,” Castro said. “And I don’t know if it impacted her decision to withdraw from the race or not, but I’m sure it didn’t help.”
Video of Castro discussing the media’s treatment of Harris was shared on Twitter:
Sen. Cory Booker expressed similar sentiments. Speaking to Chris Hayes on All In With Chris Hayes on Tuesday, Booker, who, like Castro, hasn’t yet qualified for the December Democratic debate, said, “I’m a little angry, I have to say, that we started with one of the most diverse fields in our history, giving people pride. And it’s a damn shame now that the only African American woman in this race, who has been speaking to issues that need to be brought up, is now no longer in it. And we’re spiraling towards a debate stage that potentially, we’re still trying to get in it, but could have six people with no diversity whatsoever.”
Like Castro, Booker also lamented the DNC debate threshold qualifiers. “Especially with the rules of the DNC,” Booker said, “it is preferencing millionaires and billionaires and a lot of other things that don’t ever translate into viability in Iowa.”
“And to have some artificial rules that would’ve cut out Jimmy Carter, that would’ve cut out Bill Clinton likely, that even Obama, who was 20 points behind Hillary Clinton at this point, in terms of what the polls say is viability, the polling has never predicted who would go on and win from our party,” Booker said on BuzzFeed News' AM to DM.
Here’s Booker pointing out that, as of now, more billionaires will be campaigning in the election than black people.
Debate qualifiers can be a little confusing—one can technically remain in the race even if they don’t qualify for a debate. As of now, white candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Amy Klobuchar have all qualified for December’s debate, along with white billionaire Tom Steyer. Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Andrew Yang, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, all candidates of color, have not yet qualified for the debate, along with Castro and Booker. In total, six candidates have qualified so far—and all of them are white.
Notably, Castro’s campaign had its best fundraising day this quarter after Harris dropped out, said Castro’s national press secretary, Sawyer Hackett. Candidates have less than two weeks left to qualify for the next debate.
Many people are expressing the same frustration with seeing billionaires on the debate stage when candidates of color are struggling to survive in the campaign.
Many took to Twitter to thank Harris for being in the race and shared what her run meant to them.
Booker also expressed his love for Harris on Twitter.
As did Klobuchar.
As for Harris? With a lot of grace, she’s exited the race. She’s also reminded Trump she expects to see him soon.