- The Washington Times - Thursday, August 8, 2019

Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang has won a spot on the debate stage in September, after a poll showing him at 3% support in Iowa was released Thursday.

“The country heard my message and is ready to talk about real solutions to gun violence, the new realities of the American economy, and how we measure our health and success as a nation,” Mr. Yang, an entrepreneur, said in a statement. “I’m excited to have those conversations in Houston and throughout the 2020 election.”

His campaign said that a Monmouth University survey that had Mr. Yang polling at 3% among likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers was his fourth qualifying poll for the Democratic presidential primary debate in September.

Candidates have to secure contributions from at least 130,000 individual donors and register at least 2% support in four qualifying polls to make the next debate stage in Houston.

So far, eight other candidates appear to have met those requirements: former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Bernard Sanders, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Former Obama administration Julián Castro and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard have also met the donor requirement for the next debate, but not the polling requirement.

The first two debates featured 20 candidates, with 10 participating on each night. To qualify, they had to secure donations from at least 65,000 contributors or hit 1% support in three polls.

Mr. Yang’s campaign had previously said he qualified for the September debate, but the Democratic National Committee disagreed, saying they couldn’t count two separate polls conducted by the same organization toward the requirement.

Mr. Yang has advocated for an idea where every American gets a $1,000-per-month stipend, and has also decried what he’s described as the superficiality and pageantry of the debates themselves.

“Solutions don’t come in 30-second sound bites, and the American people are tired of leadership condensed into 280 characters,” he said.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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