DNC overhauls debate criteria

The Democratic National Committee has switched up the qualifications needed to participate in the presidential debate in Las Vegas next month, opening the door for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to get a spot on stage.

Politico first reported the DNC is scrapping the donor threshold requirement for the Feb. 19 debate in Las Vegas.

Instead, candidates must either have won at least one pledged delegate out of the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary.

They also will need or reach 10% in four polls between Jan. 15 and Feb. 18 or 12% in a couple of polls in Nevada and South Carolina.

Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire, has refused to try to hit the donor thresholds set by the DNC.

The new criteria infuriated Tom Steyer, a billionaire liberal activist in the race who spent lavishly on social media drives to collect enough small-dollar donations to qualify for the debates.

“Let’s make one thing clear: changing the rules now to accommodate Mike Bloomberg and not changing them in the past to ensure a more diverse debate stage is just plain wrong,” Mr. Steyer said.

He blamed the DNC’s previously strict donor and polling criteria with knocking candidates, including minority candidates, out of the race.

“The Democratic Party should be doing everything possible to ensure a diverse field of candidates. Instead, they are changing the rules for a candidate who is ignoring early states voters and grassroots donors,” he said.

Mr. Steyer is among the seven candidates who have qualified for the Feb. 7 debate in New Hampshire ahead of that state’s first-in-the-nation primary.

The other candidates who qualified for the debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, are former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

• S.A. Miller contributed to this story.