Steyer says he qualified for October Democratic debate

Billionaire and Democratic White House hopeful Tom Steyer says he has qualified for the party’s October presidential debate. 

Steyer’s campaign announced the qualification on Sunday, citing a new CBS News/YouGov poll that found that 2 percent of Democratic voters would support him in Nevada’s caucuses.

{mosads}”Tom Steyer officially qualified for the Democratic National Committee debate in October by gaining his fourth qualifying poll,” the campaign said in a statement, noting that the candidate hit the 130,000 donor threshold in August. 

“It’s now more clear than ever that Tom’s message is resonating with Americans across the country— that it is time to break the corporate stranglehold on Washington and bring democracy back to the American people,” Heather Hargreaves, Steyer’s campaign manager, said in the statement. 

“We are thrilled that Tom will be able to share his vision— of how together we can fix our broken political system— with the American public,” she added. 

The 10 Democrats who will appear in the September debate this week automatically qualify for the October event. Steyer did not qualify for the September debate. 

The philanthropist announced his presidential bid in July. He is one of 20 Democrats currently running for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination.