Party again ups stakes for 7th Democratic candidate debate

COLUMBIA, S.C. >> The Democratic National Committee is again upping its polling and fundraising requirements for presidential hopefuls to qualify for participating in the campaign’s seventh debate in January, the first in a series of four held in the earliest-voting states.

On Friday, party officials announced that qualifiers will need to meet one of two polling requirements to make the stage at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa: either receiving 5% in at least four national or early-state surveys approved by the party, or receiving 7% in two early-state polls.

In terms of fundraising, candidates must receive donations from at least

225,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 1,000 unique donors per state in at least

20 states. That’s up from

200,000 unique overall donors, and 800 in 20 states for the December debate in Los Angeles.

The steadily stiffening requirements from debate to debate have been heavily scrutinized by candidates and party activists, as DNC Chairman Tom Perez has juggled the tasks of keeping a historically large field from being too unwieldy for voters while keeping his promise that everyone running would have a fair shot to make a case on the national stage.

Perez has defended the moves, saying that campaigns have had plenty of notice and that candidates who couldn’t meet the qualifications weren’t building the support necessary to defeat President Donald Trump next year. Party leaders have championed the transparency of their process, saying campaigns had no objections when they were told nearly a year ago about the stairstepping qualifications.