| | | | The second phase of the 2020 race starts tonight |  | | For months now, the big story in the 2020 Democratic presidential race has gone something like this: There are just so many of them!
That narrative will begin to change right around midnight Wednesday, when the qualifying window for the third presidential debate closes. At the moment, 10 candidates -- out of the 21 still running -- have met the qualifications (130,000 individual donors, four national or early-voting state polls at 2% support or more) to make the debate stage in Houston on September 12.
Barring some sort of unexpected poll release, which, well, isn't going to happen, the race will split in two starting tomorrow between, broadly speaking, the have-a-chances and the don't-have-a-chances.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was the first to drop, announcing Wednesday night that she was ending her campaign.
The simple fact is that if you are running for president but can't make it onto a debate stage that 10 of your fellow candidates made, it's going to be very, very hard to justify staying in the race all that much longer. How do you go to donors and ask them to give -- or give more -- to a candidacy that is, by the Democratic National Committee's standards, not in the top 10 most viable? And if you can't raise money, how do you pay your staff and run a real campaign?
(Side note: This standard doesn't really apply to Tom Steyer, who has the personal wealth to continue to fund his campaign for as long as he chooses.)
Even if a decent chunk of the "don't-have-a-chances" stay in the race in the near term -- maybe hoping to qualify for the fourth debate in October -- the perception that the race has now fissured between people who can win and people who can't will be very, very hard to overcome.
The coverage of the race for at least the next three or so weeks will be driven entirely by the upcoming debate -- who has the most on the line, who might surprise, etc. If you aren't one of the 10 candidates set to be on the stage (with, again, the exception of Steyer) then you will be yelling into the abyss. The race will be moving on, likely without you.
The reality is that the die is getting cast. Time is running out.
The Point: The way in which the DNC structures its debate qualification criteria sets up a natural winnowing of this giant 2020 field come September. Candidates below the cutoff line for the September debate can complain all they want about that fact, but it won't change the reality.
-- Chris | | "....And by the way, I'm the best thing that's ever happened to Puerto Rico!"
-- President Donald Trump tweeting criticism of Puerto Rico's governance, calling it "one of the most corrupt places on earth." | | | WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO DURING SUMMER RECESS? | | Rep. Steve Scalise has weighed in on the controversy dividing the nation: whether Chick-fil-A or Popeyes makes the superior fried chicken sandwich.
Scalise, a Louisiana Republican currently on summer recess, tried both to settle the debate once and for all (and made a video showing him testing out both sandwiches).
The results may be suspect, considering that only one of the sandwich joints was founded in his home district. | | Senate Democrats are NOT pleased with Ticketmaster and Live Nation's fees
Inside President Donald Trump's wild push to get his border wall built before the 2020 election
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Yes! #SaveTheOA!
Utopia, abandoned
NO. EXCESSIVE. BARKING. | | | The Point team has somewhat divergent tastes in music. But one band we ALL love is Death Cab for Cutie. So here's the new Death Cab song "To the Ground." | | Vice President Mike Pence has weighed in on rumors that Nikki Haley could be tapped to share the ticket with Trump in 2020 instead of him.
"We are, both of us, completely focused on reelecting this team in 2020," Pence told BlazeTV's Eric Bolling. He described their relationship as "very close friends."
"Nikki did a tremendous job as our ambassador to the United Nations, and I just know she's going to be out there campaigning shoulder to shoulder with me and the President as we carry this team," Pence said.
This comes after Haley took to Twitter last week to knock down rumors Trump would make her his 2020 VP pick. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Joe Biden: Continues to lead the pack in polling. Meanwhile, he says he'd prefer to pick a woman or a person of color as his VP.
Tom Steyer: Plowed millions of dollars into television and social media ads to promote his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination -- but it appears he will fail to qualify for the September debate. He needed one more authorized poll showing him at or above 2% support.
Tulsi Gabbard: Returned to the campaign trail Tuesday after spending two weeks in Indonesia for National Guard training. | | Five years ago today, then-President Barack Obama ignited controversy by wearing a tan suit while speaking to the press in the White House Briefing Room.
He discussed serious topics like ISIS, Iraq, Syria and Russia, but his sartorial choice brought swift response from Twitter and even a member of Congress. New York's GOP Rep. Peter King said at the time that Obama's suit was a metaphor for a "lack of seriousness."
How things have changed. | | | | | | |
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