Tulsi Gabbard qualifies for fourth Democratic presidential debate

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard became the 12th Democratic candidate Tuesday to qualify for the fourth presidential debate in October.

The Hawaii congresswoman received 2% support in a Monmouth University poll Tuesday, meeting the threshold to join 11 other candidates on Oct. 15 for a CNN/New York Times hosted debate near Columbus, Ohio.

Candidates were required to obtain 130,000 unique donors and at least 2% in Democratic National Committee-endorsed polls to qualify for the third and fourth debates.

While Ms. Gabbard had met the donor requirement several weeks ago, her lack of qualifying polls prevented her from attending the third debate earlier this September.

She called out the DNC at the end of August for lacking “transparency” in its selection of “certified” polls.

“There’s no explanation or transparency around why certain polls are qualifying, while other very credible, recognized polls are somehow not qualifying,” she said on CNN. “Frankly, the DNC has not provided any transparency to voters about how they’re making these decisions.”

Ms. Gabbard’s campaign did not immediately respond to comment.

The only candidate within striking distance of joining the debate is author Marianne Williamson, who has met the donor threshold but needs three more qualifying polls at 2% or higher.

Candidates have until Oct. 1 to qualify for the debates, after which the DNC says it will decide whether the debate will be held on one night or bridged into a two-night event on Oct. 16, according to The Hill.

The current lineup includes all 10 candidates who appeared in the September debate, plus billionaire investor Tom Steyer, who qualified earlier this month.