SALT LAKE CITY — Andrew Yang has qualified for the next round of Democratic primary debates, according to NBC News.
Yang becomes the ninth candidate to qualify for the next debate, despite never holding elected office. He has qualified over governors, senators and mayors struggling to make the next round.
Yang qualified after a new Monmouth University poll placed him at 2 percent support among likely Iowa Democratic caucus voters on Thursday, which gave him his fourth poll needed to qualify for the September debate.
“Nothing is official until the Democratic National Committee announces it, but Yang’s campaign says he’s already accrued the required number of donors to qualify for the debate, so the political outsider will likely be on the stage once again next month,” according to NBC.
Yang issued a statement in celebration of making the next round, according to NBC.
- “I said in the last debate that American politics had turned into a reality show that produced a reality-show president,” he said. “Solutions don’t come in 30-second sound bites and the American people are tired of leadership condensed into 280 characters. The country heard my message and is ready to talk about real solutions to gun violence, the new realities of the American economy, and how we measure our health and success as a nation.”
As CNN reported, Yang joins the following candidates in the next round of debates, which will take place in Houston:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- California Sen. Kamala Harris
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
The next debate will happen on Sept. 12 and 13 from Houston.