BILLINGS- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will not be among the 20 candidates on stage for the Democrats’ first presidential debates later this month, according to The New York Times.
The Times is reporting that the Democratic National Committee is set to announce the candidates who are in, about a week after a change in criteria appeared to eliminate Bullock.
The two other candidates to miss the cut are Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Fla., the Times reported.
Because of the large number of the candidates running, the party used a combination of polling data and fundraising totals to narrow the field for the debates.
Candidates must reach at least 1 percent in three different polls and receive donations from 65,000 people.
Last week, the Democratic party dropped one poll from its set of criteria from ABC News and the Washington Post, which had Bullock at 1 percent and could have qualified him.
The debates will be held June 26 and 27 in Miami, Fla. Each debate will feature 10 candidates.
Bullock announced his candidacy on May 14, later than most other candidates. He has argued he was unfairly punished because he chose to wait until after Montana’s legislative session adjourned to announce.
“While 20 candidates are on the debate stage in Miami, I will be talking directly to voters about my record of passing progressive priorities in a state Trump won, the importance of winning the places we lost, and how we are going to beat Donald Trump once and for all,” Bullock said in a statement to the Times.
Bullock’s campaign said in a statement Thursday that he submitted his certification of inclusion in the debates and expects to appear on stage, noting that he hit the 1 percent threshold in three different polls.
Here’s the full list of qualifiers, according to The Times, in alphabetical order:
Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado; former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind.; former housing secretary Julián Castro; Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York; former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; Sen. Kamala Harris of California; former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado; Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington; Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas; Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio; Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; Rep. Eric Swalwell of California; Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; the self-help author Marianne Williamson; and the former tech executive Andrew Yang.
