Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard steps up effort to qualify for fall primary debate

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THE DES MOINES REGISTER / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, spoke at the AARP Presidential Candidates Forum at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday.

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Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard needs to attract about 30,000 more unique donors to her presidential bid to fulfill one of two criteria for making it into the Democratic primary debates in September, an event that’s expected to significantly winnow the crowded field of presidential contenders.

Gabbard announced in recent days that she has just over 100,000 donors out of the 130,000 needed by the end of August. She also will need at least 2% support in four qualifying national or early-state polls released between June 28 and Aug. 28.

Not making the third debates in September could spell the end for many of those aspiring to the presidency, leading candidates who have struggled to gain traction to spend heavily on their campaigns in recent weeks and plead with followers over social media to pitch in just a few dollars.

“Going directly to the people through moments like the debate are so important,” Gabbard’s campaign said in a July 17 email to supporters asking for donations. “So to ensure Tulsi makes it onstage in the third debate in September, we need to step up our game.”

Meanwhile, Gabbard is among 20 candidates who officially qualified for the second Democratic primary debates in Detroit at the end of July.

She will take the stage during the second night of debates July 31 and has been grouped with political heavyweights former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris.

Other second-night contenders include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and businessman Andrew Yang.

The lineups for the two nights of debates were chosen through random drawings.

“This debate will be another critical moment for our campaign,” Gabbard’s campaign said in its email to supporters. “We have a little known candidate from Hawaii who has been either shut down or smeared by the mainstream media.”

While Gabbard’s long-shot campaign for the presidency has struggled to gain more than marginal support, her foreign policy stances, including her opposition to regime-change wars, have received significant coverage among national news outlets.