On June 27th, 2019, top Democratic candidates, Vice-President Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris took the stage for the first time.
Harris’ strong performance propelled her into the national spotlight in which national publicans declared her the winner of the two-night debate.
As these three candidates continue to fight for their party’s nomination, Joe Biden still remains the top candidate.
RealClearPolitics, an online publication that offers “non-partisan analysis” compiles all the major polling data and provides an accurate average. The most recent polling data for July 5th still has Joe Biden sitting at 26%, a healthy ten-point double-digit lead over all the other candidates. Before the debate, Biden was sitting at 32%, 6 points higher than he currently is, and is down 19 points since May 13, 2019.
Before the debate, Sanders had 17% and Harris had 10% of support compared to other candidates. After the debate, Sanders dropped to 14%, and Harris jumped to 15.2%. Whether Harris is going to continue to climb in the polls cannot be said. However, now that candidates understand the debate boundaries, we are sure to see more fireworks in the future.
DNC New Debate Candidate Qualifications
The Democratic National Committee has enacted a new set of rules that candidates must meet in order to be invited to take part in the debate. First, candidates must be at 1% in three specific national polls or have 65,000 donors.
Candidates who have met these requirements are Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang.
John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, and Tim Ryan slightly meet the polling requirement to be on stage but have not yet secured a spot for the debate. All three candidates are polling just above 1%.
Four candidates, Michael Bennet, Bullock, Bill de Blasio, and Swalwell are polling at an average of 1% and vie for three open slots on the debate, meaning one or all of them may be sent home if they do not qualify.
July Debate Scheduled
The next Democratic debate is scheduled for July 30-31, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan. The debate is limited to 20 candidates, 10 candidates each night.