Thanks to a new NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll released Tuesday, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has met the requirements to participate in the Democratic debate in Las Vegas this Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Bloomberg sits in second place among Democratic presidential candidates, polling at 19% while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leads the way with 31%. On Monday, Bloomberg launched an attack ad specifically targeting Sanders, so that rivalry is heating up.
In addition to Sanders, he will face Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.
The Democratic National Committee revised the thresholds necessary for candidates to qualify for debates at the end of January, paving the way for Bloomberg, who announced his candidacy much later than his competitors did, to take the stage for the first time.
NBC News, which is hosting Wednesday’s debate, reported that the party did away with the grassroots donor threshold, which has required candidates in every other debate thus far to receive donations from tens of thousands of supporters to qualify.
As Bloomberg, a billionaire, is self-funding his campaign and not accepting donations, this now gives him the opportunity to qualify for February’s debate, which is being co-hosted by MSNBC.
The debate will air exclusively on NBC News and MSNBC at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. It will also stream live on NBC News NOW on OTT devices, NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, NBC News Mobile App, NBC News and MSNBC‘s Facebook pages, and online at The Nevada Independent.