When Democrats take the stage for the next presidential debate on Nov. 20, all the moderators they will face questions from will be women.
The debate in Georgia will be hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post. MSNBC announced Wednesday that the moderators will be MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell, NBC News White House reporter Kristen Welker and Washington Post White House reporter Ashley Parker.
As of Thursday, nine candidates had qualified for the debate.
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Sen. Cory Booker
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Sen. Kamala Harris
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Billionaire Tom Steyer
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
The Democratic National Committee increased the polling and fundraising requirements for this debate compared to September and October, leading to the likelihood that the field will be smaller than the 12 who were last on stage.
Candidates must have at least 165,000 unique donors, up from 130,000 donors for September and October.
They also must receive either 3% or more support in at least four national or early-state polls — or receive 5% or more support in two early-state polls. That separate early-state threshold is a new polling pathway that DNC officials say is meant to reward candidates who may be generating enthusiasm in states like Iowa or New Hampshire even if similar support isn't registering in national polls.
Three of the remaining 10 Democratic presidential candidates have reached the donation mark but none have reached the polling requirement.
The deadline to meet the polling and fundraising thresholds is Nov. 13, giving candidates two weeks to qualify.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro told supporters Monday that if he can't raise $800,000 by the end of the month, he will drop out of the race.