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US Democrats Announce Tighter Criteria for Fifth Presidential Debate

Reuters

   WASHINGTON - The Democratic National Committee on Monday announced new
   criteria for the fifth presidential debate in November, requiring
   candidates to meet one of two polling requirements and have 165,000
   unique donors.

   Candidates must either receive 3 percent or more support in four
   national or early state polls or 5 percent or more support in two polls
   of the states that hold early presidential nominating contests: Iowa,
   New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada.

   They must show a minimum of 600 unique donors per state in at least 20
   U.S. states, territories or the District of Columbia, the DNC said.

   The new requirements promise to further cull the large Democratic field
   of 19 candidates seeking to challenge Republican President Donald Trump
   in the November 2020 election.

   Former Vice President Joe Biden has led most opinion polls so far,
   followed by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

   The sprawling field has made it difficult for lesser-known candidates
   to register in the minds of Democratic voters, with several polling at
   1 percent or less nationally.

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