The fifth Democratic debate for the 2020 presidential race will be happening on November 20, 2019 at 5 p.m. Pacific time in Georgia, and nine candidates have qualified so far for it. The Democratic National Committee is making the terms for qualification for debates more difficult as the presidential election comes closer.
The candidates that have met the qualifications for debate participation are (in order of popularity): Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Cory Booker, Tom Steyer, and Tulsi Gabbard.
For the November debate, candidates must receive contributions from at least 165,000 unique donors to debate on the stage at Tyler Perry Studios. In addition, they must have at least two polls at five percent or more in the four early nominating states (South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Iowa) or four polls at three percent or more in the early nominating states or national surveys.
This debate will be co-hosted by The Washington Post and MSNBC, and it will be available to watch on MSNBC or on washingtonpost.com. An all-women panel will be moderating the debate: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Kristen Welker, and Ashley Parker.
Many new discussion points are certain to be brought up during the debate, especially the candidates' opinions on the results of the impeachment hearings for President Trump given their beginning one week prior to the debate. Women's health issues are sure to be as a topic as well, as the Democratic debates have been criticized for not including substantial discussion about this topic.
The stakes for the December 12 debate, being held in Los Angeles, are even higher, requiring 200,000 unique donors and two polls at six percent or four polls at four percent in the early nominating states. Only Biden, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, and Harris have qualified for this debate as of now.