If you were overwhelmed by seeing 12 candidates on stage for the October debate, have no fear. The Democratic National Committee announced on Thursday that just ten candidates will appear in November’s debate.
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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) was the final qualifier, hitting the mark a week before the deadline. Former housing and urban development secretary Julián Castro and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex.) had appeared in every debate so far. Castro fell short this time around, while O’Rourke dropped out on Nov. 1.
Who has qualified for each debate
| June debate | July | Aug. | Oct. | Nov. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Biden |  | | | |  |
 Booker | | | | | |
 Buttigieg | | | | | |
 Harris | | | | | |
 Klobuchar | | | | | |
 Sanders | | | | | |
 Warren | | | | | |
 Yang | | | | | |
 Gabbard | | | | | |
 Steyer | | | |||
 Castro | | | | | |
 O’Rourke | | | | | Dropped out |
 Bennet | | | |||
 de Blasio | | | Dropped out | ||
 Delaney | | | |||
 Gillibrand | | | Dropped out | ||
 Hickenlooper | | | Dropped out | ||
 Inslee | | | Dropped out | ||
 Ryan | | | Dropped out | ||
 Williamson | | | |||
 Swalwell | | Dropped out | |||
 Bullock | | ||||
Under the new rules, candidates needed to register at least 3 percent in four polls approved by the party between Sept. 13 and Nov. 13, or at least 5 percent in two early state polls (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada). Candidates must also have earned donations from at least 165,000 unique donors, with at least 600 coming from 20 individual states.
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As with previous debates, candidates had a tougher time meeting the polling threshold than the donor requirements. Each candidate who qualified met the donor threshold before reaching the polling threshold, according to their campaigns. Castro met the donor threshold but did not receive any qualifying polls.
| 3% in four national or early state polls | or | 5% in two early state polls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |
| Castro | Needed 4 more | or | Needed 2 more |
In the past few months, a qualifying poll has been released roughly every two days, and 32 qualifying polls were released during this debate’s qualification window.
The debate rules may not be narrowing the field to the extent the party had hoped. O’Rourke and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) dropped out of the race during this debate qualification window. But former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick joined the field on Nov. 14, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also considering a run.
Correction (Oct. 15): A previous version of this story stated that O’Rourke had not earned at least 3 percent in the last 14 qualifying polls. While it did not count toward his qualifying total, he earned 3 percent in the Oct. 10 Fox News national poll.
About this report
This analysis is based on rules set by the DNC. Individual donor numbers are reported by the campaigns. Polling totals are based on numbers compiled by Politico.
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