This story has been updated.
On Sept. 12 in Houston, 10 Democratic presidential candidates will duke it out for the nomination on the debate stage. ABC News, one of the debate’s sponsors, said “the ideological divide within the Democratic Party will be front and center.”
The candidates will appear on the stage from left to right, according to ABC News.
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- California Sen. Kamala Harris
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
- Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro
According to the DNC, candidates who didn’t make the cut were given almost two dozen chances to produce four polls that showed them at 2 percent or higher among the crowded field. Some candidates who didn’t make the cut include Rep. Tusli Gabbard and billionaire Tom Steyer.
The debate, co-sponsored with Univision, will take place at Texas Southern University, a leading historically black university.
Julián Castro, who has distinguished himself on the trail with his ambitious policy proposals ranging from immigration to animal welfare, was the 10th and latest candidate to qualify for the debate. He qualified last Tuesday after producing a poll that showed him at 2 percent. On Wednesday, his campaign announced a “Castro Country” rally set to be held in Houston ahead of the debate.
O’Rourke, who qualified last month and has been back on the campaign trail since taking a break to be with victims of the El Paso shooting, has been busy trying to break above the low single digit polling he’s received. This week, he garnered some headlines after ejecting a Breitbart reporter from one of his campaign events. He’s also been pressuring the DNC to host a climate-focused debate, an idea which was rejected in a vote last week.
Each candidate will have one minute and 15 seconds to directly respond to questions and additional time for rebuttals. The DNC is planning a total of 12 debates, with six this year and another six in 2020.
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignal.com
