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East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell earned his place on the Democratic presidential debate stage Tuesday after getting 1 percent in his third qualifying poll since becoming a White House candidate.
Tuesday’s CNN poll found him at 1 percent nationally among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters — following polls earlier this month that put him at the same level in Iowa and New Hampshire.
The Democratic rules require candidates to qualify either by getting donations from at least 65,000 individual people, or getting at least 1 percent in three polls from approved polling organizations nationally or in one of the first primary states.
The CNN poll found former Vice President Joe Biden leading the field with 39 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him, and getting a bump after he officially announced his long-expected presidential bid last week. California Sen. Kamala Harris was in sixth place with 5 percent.
While the poll results reinforce what a long shot Swalwell is for the presidency, the debate will give him an opportunity to make his case for gun control and student debt reform in front of what could be one of his largest audiences yet.
But the stage will be packed, and the 38-year-old representative will be under pressure to produce a breakout moment. He’s the 17th candidate to qualify for the event, which will take place in Miami on June 26 and 27 with the candidates randomly split up between each night.
And there’s still a chance Swalwell could eventually be shunted out of the debate. If more than 20 candidates qualify for the debates through either the donor or polling thresholds, they’ll be winnowed down based on those who meet both measures. There are currently 20 Democrats running for president, with several other politicians eyeing a bid.
Swalwell hasn’t yet received donations from 65,000 people, although his campaign said he was making progress toward that goal. A New York Times analysis this week found that only eight candidates had qualified through both methods so far, including Harris. (Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii became the ninth after CNN’s latest poll.)
“I’m grateful that I’ll have a place on the debate stage to discuss ending gun violence, providing affordable healthcare for all while finding cures in our lifetime, ensuring all communities have top-notch schools, and making sure student loan debt isn’t a lifetime burden,” Swalwell said in a statement.
Since he entered the presidential race with an announcement on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert earlier this month, Swalwell has campaigned across the early states, near the site of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, and in his hometown of Dublin, Calif. He met Democrats at house parties and forums across Iowa this weekend, focusing on rural towns. He’s also kept up a steady stream of appearances on cable TV.
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