Democratic primary debates set for Sept. 12-13 are likely to include 10 candidates, selected under more stringent rules than the first two rounds, cutting the participant number in half.

Under tougher entry requirements for the Democratic National Committee debates, candidates must reach 2% or above support in at least four approved polls, in addition to at least 130,000 unique donors. That must be spread across at least 400 donors spread over a minimum of 20 states.

Ten candidates have met or are close to meeting those standards for September debates, hosted by ABC News in partnership with Univision. A few other candidates also may meet those marks but have a longer way to go before the Aug. 28 deadline.

Six candidates have already met both the donor and polling thresholds:



Former Vice President Joe Biden

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren

California Sen. Kamala Harris

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke

Two candidates have met the polling threshold but have not yet announced reaching the donor requirement:



New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Both senators appear likely to meet the donor threshold by the Aug. 28 deadline. Booker campaign manager Addisu Demissie said in a tweet Thursday that the campaign had surpassed 126,000 donors. On July 15, Klobuchar campaign manager Justin Buoen said that the campaign was “on track to hit the 130,000 donors needed to qualify for the next DNC debate,” having reached over 100,000 donors by the end of June.

Two candidates have said they met the 130,000-donor threshold but still need additional qualifying polls:



Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro

Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Castro needs just one more 2% or above poll to qualify, so there is a good chance that both will make the September debates.

Yang needs either one or two more qualifying polls.

(A candidate’s four qualifying polls “must be conducted by different organizations.” The DNC has not clarified to the Washington Examiner whether it considered an NBC/SurveyMonkey poll and an NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll to be conducted by different organizations or the same organization, since NBC sponsored both. Yang got 2% in both polls.)

Only three additional candidates have any qualifying polls.

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has one 2% poll, and her campaign said Tuesday that it has 105,000 donors. While she is closer to qualifying than many others in the field, it is not certain she will pass the mark.

Chances of making the September debate don’t look so good for the other two candidates on the polling board.

Billionaire Tom Steyer, who announced his candidacy in early July, reached 2% support in two polls. Even if he gets two more qualifying polls, reaching 130,000 donors before Aug. 28 after will be a tough task.

Steyer spokesman Alberto Lammers told the Washington Examiner, "We are confident that Tom will be on the debate stage in Houston."

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has one qualifying poll, but he has struggled to fundraise and many staff members have left his campaign. Hickenlooper didn’t announce surpassing the lower, 65,000-donor threshold for the first two debates.

All other candidates have zero qualifying polls, but some are in better shape donor-wise than others.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has yet to get on the board with polls, her campaign said on July 15 that it is “on pace to hit the 130,000 donors needed to qualify for the fall debates.” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s campaign also said July 15 that it had reached nearly 100,000 donors.

The DNC said that the debate “may” occur over two nighs, but it has not clarified what number of qualifying candidates would trigger a second night of debate.

While the debates are considered crucial to proving a viable campaign and provide an opportunity to stand out in a crowded field, several low-tier candidates have said that they intend to stay in the race even if they miss out on the September round.

Those who miss the mark for the third debate could still qualify for the fourth round in October, which has the same qualification standards as the September debate.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock demonstrated how to miss one debate but make the next one: Though he was not in the June debates, he gained more qualifying polls in July that secured his spot on the stage next week.

Still, Democratic strategists say that missing a debate is an indication that a campaign should cease operations.

"Anyone’s entitled to hang around, but they’re not going to do well, they’re not going to do much of anything if they’re not in the debates,” Bob Shrum, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and a veteran Democratic strategist, told the Washington Examiner earlier this month.