WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will be back on the presidential debate stage next month, one of at least a dozen presidential contenders who have qualified so far.

On Tuesday, Monmouth University released a poll showing the Hawaii congresswoman received 2% support among registered New Hampshire voters who intended to participate in the upcoming Democratic primary.

That gives Gabbard the four polls necessary to qualify under Democratic National Committee rules to participate in the upcoming debate in Ohio, which is hosted by CNN and The New York Times. The debate will be held Oct. 15 and possibly Oct. 16. 

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard announces her run for president at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is hoping to be the Democratic nominee for president. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Still, Gabbard lagged behind much of the rest of the presidential field.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren led all candidates with 27% support among New Hampshire votes, edging out former Vice President Joe Biden, who only received 25% support.

Rounding out the top five were U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (12%), South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (10%) and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (3%).

Other candidates who received 2% support were U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and businessman Andrew Yang.

Gabbard had until Oct. 1 to meet the DNC requirements to make the Ohio debate stage.

Per DNC rules, candidates could only participate if they received 2% support in at least four qualified polls and meet a 130,000 unique donor threshold.

Gabbard is now one of the 12 candidates who have qualified for the debate.

The congresswoman missed out on the September debate because of low polling. She was publicly critical of the process, saying the DNC was not being transparent. She also suggested it was part of a broader conspiracy.

Gabbard will now face a new hurdle as she continues to try to keep her presidential hopes alive. On Monday, the DNC released a new set of thresholds for candidates wishing to participate in the November debate.

Those rules require that a candidate have at least 165,000 unique donors, including at least 600 in each of at least 20 states.

Candidates must also hit 3% in four or more qualifying national polls, or 5% in early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Caroline or Nevada.

According to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, Gabbard has already met the 165,000 donor threshold to qualify for the fifth debate in November, but has not yet polled at 3% in any poll approved by the DNC. 

Help power our public service journalism

As a local newsroom, Civil Beat has a unique public service role in times of crisis.

That’s why we’re committed to a paywall-free website and subscription-free content, so we can get vital information out to everyone, from all communities.

We are deploying a significant amount of our resources to covering the Maui fires, and your support ensures that we can pivot when these types of emergencies arise.

Make a gift to Civil Beat today and help power our nonprofit newsroom.

About the Author