Democrats Are Calling on DNC to Allow Bloomberg to Join Debates
- Rivals say not being on stage means less scrutiny from voters
- Bloomberg is self-financing his campaign and doesn’t qualify
Democrats concerned that presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is avoiding scrutiny by not participating in televised debates with other candidates are pushing the party to allow the billionaire on stage.
Bloomberg hasn’t been eligible for debates since joining the race Nov. 24 because he’s self-funding his campaign. The Democratic National Committee requires a certain level of donations from individuals to qualify for the debate stage. Bloomberg has spent $278 million of his own money so far in ads, an effort that has earned him fourth place in recent national polls.
But both Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a group allied with Elizabeth Warren, said Tuesday that Bloomberg’s absence means voters don’t get to evaluate how he answers direct questions and responds to challenges from other candidates.
“Imagine a world where he hypothetically buys 30% of the polls and is the front-runner,” Green said. “How would it ever make sense not to have him on the debate stage to get scrutiny and talk to voters?”
Green said he raised concerns about Bloomberg being excluded from the debates in a December DNC call. He proposed that the party add an exception for candidates who exceed some of the other criteria, such as doing very well in a number of recognized polls. A DNC spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did a spokesman for Warren.