There are 19 candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring to run for President next year, but just a dozen are expected to appear on next month’s debate stage in Westerville.
The Democratic National Committee said it expect 12 candidates will participate in the October 15 debate at Otterbein University. While the organization had blocked off two nights, it says only one will be needed because no other candidate is close to qualifying by the October 1 deadline.
The event will be co-hosted by CNN and The New York Times, and moderated by Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and Marc Lacey.
To qualify for this debate, candidates must get at least 2% in four DNC-approved polls and have at least 130,000 unique donors, including 400 donors per state from at least 20 states. The bar gets even higher to reach in future debates.
The October 15 debate at Otterbein University features the frontrunners of former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Other candidates include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, businessman Tom Steyer and businessman Andrew Yang.
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Boardman) has not qualified for the debate but his campaign continues.
