WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic National Committee has ratcheted up the threshold to qualify for its next presidential debate, requiring candidates to have picked up at least 20% of convention delegates allocated in state primary contests.
The new rules announced Friday for the March 15 debate in Arizona will allow former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to participate but will likely exclude Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Gabbard has struggled to attract support in the contest and has picked up only two delegates: from the U.S. territory of American Samoa, where she was born.
The DNC's new rules require a candidate to pick up more delegates in elections to be held Tuesday in a handful of states, including delegate-rich Michigan.
