Jul 29, 2019

Cory Booker qualifies for 3rd 2020 Democratic debate

Marisa Fernandez

Sen. Cory Booker. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Sen. Cory Booker's campaign told CNN on Monday that he surpassed 130,000 unique donors, a requirement to participate in the fall Democratic debate.

Why it matters: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O’Rourke all have qualified for September.

"We're building this campaign the right way, brick by brick from the grassroots up, and we're seeing the results of that strategy as we continue to build momentum."
— Booker's campaign manager Addisu Demissie told CNN.

The big picture: Tougher qualification requirements have some worried the debates — rather than voters —  will drastically winnow the primary field.

  • The September debates doubled the amount of donors from 65,000 unique donors to 130,000. Candidates must also be polling at 2% in 4 qualifying polls.

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Orion Rummler, Gigi Sukin

The 2020 candidates who have qualified for the next Democratic debate

Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren. Photos: Scott Olson/Getty Images, Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images, and Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

The fourth round of Democratic debates will be held on Oct. 15 in Westerville, Ohio, with 12 candidates onstage, making it the biggest single-night debate to date. 

How it works: This debate had the same requirements as September's. Qualifying candidates must have reached 2% in 4 DNC-approved polls and drawn 130,000 unique donors — including 400 donors in 20 different states. Oct. 1 was the final day to make the cut.

Go deeperArrowUpdated Oct 2, 2019
Marisa Fernandez

Jay Inslee unlikely to qualify for CNN's climate change town hall

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has centered his 2020 campaign around climate change policy, was not one of the 10 Democratic presidential candidates who qualified for an invite to CNN's climate change town hall in September.

Why it matters: Several polls point to climate change as a top issue for Democratic voters, but Inslee, whose proposals and debate appearances have been focused on severing the U.S. from fossil fuel dependency, is still polling around 1%.

Go deeperArrowAug 19, 2019
Sara Fischer

2020 candidates pouring cash into targeting the Rust Belt on Facebook

Data: Bully Pulpit Interactive 2020 Campaign Tracker; Note: Data from March 30 to July 27; Chart: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

2020 candidates are pouring more into ads targeting Rust Belt states than some of the other early primary states, according to Facebook data pulled from Bully Pulpit Interactive.

Be smart: The data also shows most campaigns have a 50-state targeting strategy online. This is likely a reflection of candidates' push to develop broad-based support in order to hit the requirements necessary to qualify for the next round of Democratic primary debates in September.

Go deeperArrowAug 6, 2019