Julián Castro told supporters Thursday that he plans to abandon his White House campaign if he does not qualify to compete in the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate.
“I don’t say this lightly,” Mr. Castro said in a fundraising email seeking donations. “If I don’t make the next debate stage, it will be the end of my campaign.”
Mr. Castro, a former secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration, cited new criteria announced by the Democratic National Committee this week as the reason for potentially exiting the race.
In addition to raising funds from a minimum of 160,000 unique donors, candidates must poll at or above 3% in four separate DNC-approved polls — or 5% in at least two qualifying polls conducted in early nominating states — to participate in the fifth primary debate taking place in November, the DNC announced Monday.
Mr. Castro qualified to compete in the first three primary debates held by the DNC this year, as well as a fourth scheduled for Oct. 15, but the criteria for candidates to participate in those contests was comparatively easier to meet.
Candidates needed to receive at least 2% support in four DNC-approved polls, as well as contributions from a minimum of 130,000 unique donors, in order to reserve a spot on stage during the third and fourth debates, for example.
The results of recent nationwide polling released this week by Quinnipiac University and Emerson placed support among Democrats for Mr. Castro at 2% and zero, respectively.
“The future of my campaign rests on funding the ads I’ll need to meet this new debate threshold,” Mr. Castro wrote in the fundraising email.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, another of more than a dozen candidates currently seeking the Democratic nod, similarly said last week that he will likely exit the race if he falls to reach a fundraising goal at the end of the month.
“We can’t continue this without more support,” Mr. Booker said over the weekend. “I won’t continue this unless I can look people in the eye and say we have a chance to win it.”
Twelve candidates so far have qualified to compete in the fourth debate next month, including Mr. Castro and Mr. Booker, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernard Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, businessman Andrew Yang, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, activist Tom Steyer and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
An exact date and location for the fifth debate have not yet been announced. Candidates will have up until a week beforehand to qualify to compete, according to the DNC.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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