The candidates who have qualified for the January Democratic debate so far

Six Democratic debate candidate

Six Democratic presidential candidates will be on stage next week for the seventh debate of the primary season, a field that so far does not include any candidates of color.

These are presidential hopefuls who have qualified for the debate being held Tuesday, January 14, in Des Moines, Iowa:

-Former Vice President Joe Biden

-Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg

-Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

-Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont

-Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

-Billionaire investor Tom Steyer

Candidates who may be forced to sit out this debate include Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. They have until 11:59 p.m. on January 10 to make the cut.


The Democratic National Committee upped the threshold for candidates to qualify for Tuesday's debate, further narrowing the number of Democratic presidential hopefuls who will be on stage. To appear in the debate, candidates have to attract at least 5% support in at least four qualified or single-state polls, or at least 7% in two qualified early-state polls. They also must demonstrate that they have received donations from at least 225,000 unique donors, with at least 1,000 in a minimum of 20 states, territories, or the District of Columbia.

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Tuesday's debate is hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register and will take place at Drake University. It is the last debate before the Iowa caucuses on February 3.

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The debate requirements have been a source of contention between candidates and the Democratic National Committee. Last month, nine Democratic presidential contenders, including the frontrunners, called for the party to change the debate rules to a larger pool of candidates.

The presidential hopefuls said the rules have "unnecessarily and artificially narrowed what started as the strongest and most diverse Democratic field in history before voters have had a chance to be heard."

Since the last Democratic debate in December — which included the six candidates who will be on stage Tuesday as well as Yang — former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro suspended his campaign. He endorsed Warren days after dropping out of the 2020 race.