Seven of the top Democrats took the stage in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday night for a debate four days before the first-in-the-nation primary election in New Hampshire.
With the Iowa caucus results still on Democrats’ minds, the first question went Joe Biden, who finished fourth in that contest.
“I took a hit in Iowa, and I’ll probably take a hit here,” Biden said, acknowledging his struggles in the polls in New Hampshire.
Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg finished on top coming out of Iowa, with Elizabeth Warren in third place. Moderator George Stephanopoulos then posed a question that went to Sanders’ electability: “Is anybody concerned about having a democratic socialist at the top of the ticket?”
To qualify for this debate, candidates had to attract 5% support in four national or state polls out of New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada, or 7% polling in two state polls from the list of qualified polls.
They also needed contributions from 225,000 unique donors, including 1,000 unique donors per state in at least 20 states, U.S. territories, or the District of Columbia.
However, starting with this debate, there will be another way to qualify, too. Candidates meeting a delegate threshold will be able to participate. That is, any candidate allocated at least one pledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention based on the results of the Iowa caucuses on February 3 will qualify.
