The top contenders for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination will duke it out on stage in Houston in September.
It was announced this week that Houston will play host to the ABC News/Univision debate scheduled for September 12th and 13th. The debates will be notable for being the first to feature the increased threshold of qualification that candidates must hit 2 percent in three qualifying polls, in addition to receiving contributions from 130,000 unique donors.
While qualification information has not yet been released for the debates, many pundits expect the twenty-four candidate field’s top four candidates - Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders - to qualify for the debate. Other candidates, such as Texans Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro, have passed the donor threshold, but will have to meet the polling requirement ahead of the debate.
In a statement, Texas Democratic chairman Gilberto Hinojosa praised the move to schedule the Houston debate, saying it proves Texas to be a battleground state in 2020.
“Texas is a battleground state, period,” Hinojosa said. “We know that when Texas goes blue, the White House will follow. We are pleased that our partners at the Democratic National Committee have agreed to host the third Presidential Debate here in Texas. This is our moment. Our movement is growing from the ground up, block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood. We are changing this state and country so everyone has a fair shot to get ahead. Texas Democrats have officially arrived and we’re here to stay.”
Qualifying candidates will likely be announced ahead of the debate in September.
