The Democratic National Committee announced Monday that it was changing the criteria for candidates to qualify in the fifth 2020 presidential debate by putting a greater focus on early primary state polls.

The candidates will be required to hit 3% or more in at least four qualifying polls or receive 5% or more in two single-state surveys in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

The candidates also must have 165,000 unique donors from a minimum of 600 individual donors in at least 20 states.

The DNC has played the role of gatekeeper in the Democratic debates.

The first two debates had 20 candidates, while the third was decreased to 10.

The debate next month in Ohio so far is set to feature 11 candidates.

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