Democratic presidential candidates on stage during the Democratic Presidential Debate in Houston. | Win McNamee/Getty Images 2020 Elections October Democratic debate will be on one night

The Democratic National Committee intends to hold its fourth presidential primary debate on one night in October, packing the stage with as many as 12 qualified candidates.

"To address several inquiries we have received we are writing to let you know that, pending a final decision after the certification deadline, it is the intention of the DNC and our media partners to hold the October debate over one night on Tuesday October 15th," the DNC wrote in an email to campaigns on Friday.


A DNC spokesperson told POLITICO that all candidates will participate in one debate that evening. The news was first reported by CNN, which is co-hosting the debate in Ohio along with The New York Times.

Twelve candidates have qualified for the October debate so far: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang. Gabbard and Steyer missed out on the September debates but met the polling criteria for the October edition in recent weeks.

No other candidate appears likely to qualify before the deadline closes. Candidates must get 2 percent support in four DNC-approved polls, as well as donations from 130,000 unique donors, in order to make the debate stage.

After the October debate, the thresholds will rise slightly, as the DNC bumped up the criteria to qualify for the November debate. The higher thresholds will imperil some of the candidates in the October debate, but aren't expected to overwhelmingly reduce the number of participating candidates.