Andrew Yang qualifies for the next presidential debate

ANDREW YANG

With the Iowa Caucuses just days away on Feb. 3, Andrew Yang is ramping up his campaign after learning he qualified for the next presidential debate prior to the New Hampshire primary.

The candidate, who has never run for office prior to his surprising campaign, qualified for the Democrats' presidential debate being held Feb. 7 after earning 5% in two polls: a CNN Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire and a Washington Post/ABC News poll released this past weekend. He had already met the DNC bar for the number of donors.

Yang joins six other candidates who have qualified for the debate: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, businessman Tom Steyer and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Yang's participation in the New Hampshire debate will mean the Democrats won't repeat the poor optics of the January debate when only white candidates appeared onstage.  Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, Deval Patrick and Cory Booker failed to meet the DNC's criteria. Julian Castro and Kamala Harris had ended their campaigns earlier.

To avoid the all-white candidates' debate, the DNC added one more way a candidate could qualify -- wining one delegate in Iowa, a feat that Yang and, perhaps, Gabbard might be able to meet.

Appearing on the conservative network Fox News last Sunday, Yang criticized the DNC for not allowing Fox sponsor one of the debates. Yang's appearance on the network, which has severely criticized the Democrats, followed his policy of reaching out to a wide spectrum of voters. 

"One thing I think Democrats should do, I think we should go on FOX News and talk to the American people," Yang said. "Because how can you win an election and bring the country together if you literally won't talk to 40% or 50% of the population?"

The qualification window for the Feb. 7 debate, which will be held at Saint Anselm College outside Manchester, N.H. closes at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 6, reports Politico.

Two more debates are scheduled for February: Feb. 19 in Las Vegas (three days before the Nevada caucuses) and Feb. 25 in Charleston, S.C. (four days before the state’s primary). Qualification rules have not yet been announced for those debates.