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WASHINGTON – Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez defended the party's decision to raise the bar on who makes the presidential debate stage this fall following criticism that the rules are arbitrary and exclusive.

Some candidates are questioning the DNC's decision to require that candidates hit 2% in four qualifying polls and tally at least 130,000 individual donors before they could qualify for debates scheduled for September and October. That's twice the minimum candidates must meet to get on stage for the first and second rounds of debates, which start later this month.

"We’ve said this all along, that in the fall we’re going to raise the threshold because that’s what we always do. You have to demonstrate that you’re making progress. And 2% is hardly a high bar in my judgment," Perez said Saturday on CNN. "You can’t win the presidency in the modern era if you can’t build relationships with the grassroots."

Perez said the DNC spoke to "a ton of people" for input before adopting its debate rules.

"What we’ve set up … is a structure where we want to give everyone a fair shake to communicate their vision to the American people," Perez said. "The proof is in the pudding. Candidates have done a very good job in the aggregate of reaching the grassroots and I think that’s going to help us as a party in the long run."

Seth Wenig, AP

But not everyone of the roughly two dozen major candidates running for the Democratic nomination is satisfied.

At a campaign stop in New Hampshire this week, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet called the new rules "arbitrary."

"I don't think they should be winnowing the field, and I certainly don't think the DNC should be favoring national fundraising and cable television over the early states like New Hampshire," Bennet told WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H.

Skewered by critics in 2016 for seemingly favoring Hillary Clinton, the DNC also received a letter from presidential candidate John Delaney who questioned how the committee put together the criteria.

"Right now, we live in a country where half the people can't afford basic necessities like their rent, their food, their utilities. I'm running for those people," the former Maryland congressman told CBS News in an interview Friday. "It doesn't seem like they're probably contributing to a lot of political candidates so why is their voice not relevant."

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The first debate is scheduled to be held over two nights on June 26 and 27 in Miami, and the second round is scheduled for July 30 and 31 in Detroit. To qualify, candidates must register at least 1% in three polls or receive campaign contributions from at least 65,000 donors.

The campaigns of 12 candidates say they have met both the polling and donor qualifications to take part in the first two rounds of debates.

They are: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Tex., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee and activist Marianne Williamson.

Up to 20 Candidates have until June 12 to qualify for the Miami debates. By June 14, Perez said he expects the lineups for the two-day event (10 candidates on each night) will be randomly selected.

Perez told CNN the format will give those polling in the lower half of candidates to have a "breakthrough moment" that can lift them into the fall debates.

"My goal is to make sure that all of those candidates and their supporters feel like they got a fair shake so that next spring when we have our nominee, they can hit the ground running," he said.

Contributing: Aamer Madhani

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2020 Presidential candidates