Campaign

Yang qualifies for fall Democratic debates

by Max Greenwood 08/08/19 11:39 AM CDT

Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang on Thursday qualified for the third and fourth Democratic presidential debates this fall after a new poll showed him notching 2 percent support among Iowa voters.

Yang had already met the 130,000-donor threshold set by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and scored at least 2 percent in three DNC-approved polls. But a Monmouth University survey of likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa released on Thursday gave him a fourth qualifying poll, making him the ninth candidate to make the debate stage next month.{mosads}

“I said in the last debate that American politics had turned into a reality show that produced a reality show president,” Yang said. “Solutions don’t come in 30 second sound bites and the American people are tired of leadership condensed into 280 characters.”

“The country heard my message and is ready to talk about real solutions to gun violence, the new realities of the American economy, and how we measure our health and success as a nation. I’m excited to have those conversations in Houston and throughout the 2020 election.”

Yang’s campaign had previously announced that he had qualified for the fall debates. But the DNC had said that two of the polls — one from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal and another from NBC News and SurveyMonkey — would only count as one, because they had the same sponsor.

Eight other candidates have qualified for the third debate so far: former Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).

Candidates have until Aug. 28 to qualify for the third Democratic debate on Sept. 12. Few other candidates are close to meeting the participation requirements, including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, who has met the donor requirement but needs to score at least 2 percent in one more poll.

Another 2020 hopeful, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), has also met the 130,000-donor requirement, but needs at least three more polls to qualify.