Bullock makes CNN debate stage

The second round of Democratic presidential debates this month will feature the same cast of candidates as the first with one notable addition: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. 

CNN, the network slated to host the second round of debates in Detroit on July 30 and 31, announced the roster of qualified candidates on Wednesday. Like the first round of debates, that list features 20 candidates. This time around, however, Bullock will be on stage. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who made the first debate last month, has since dropped out of the race.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Miramar, Fla. Mayor Wayne Messam, who did not qualify for last month’s debate, also failed to make the stage for the second debate.

{mosads}Two other candidates, billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer and former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), will also be absent from the debate stage, though both men only entered the Democratic nominating contest recently. 

CNN on Thursday will conduct a draw to determine on which day the candidates will debate. 

To qualify for the first two Democratic debates, candidates had to either score 1 percent in at least 3 polls or amass support from 65,000 unique donors. 

Bullock failed to qualify for the first debate after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said it would exclude so-called open-ended polls from its criteria, including a January Washington Post/ABC News poll that showed Bullock at 1 percent.

Bullock’s campaign celebrated his debate qualification on Wednesday. 

“I’m excited to add my voice to the next DNC debate in Detroit. We need to have a conversation that isn’t detached from the realities people face in their everyday lives — the need for affordable healthcare, quality public schools, and an economy that ensures everyone has a fair shot at success,” Bullock said in a statement.

While Bullock may have qualified for the second round of debates, he’s among several candidates at risk of missing out on the primary debates this fall. To qualify for those, candidates will have to collect contributions from at least 130,000 unique donors and notch 2 percent in at least four polls.

Here’s a full list of candidates who qualified for the second debate: Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bullock, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), author Marianne Williamson and former tech executive Andrew Yang.