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Johnson, Stein fail to qualify for first debate
Neither Johnson nor Stein satisfied the 15% support-threshold of the five polls recognized by the the Commission on Presidential Debates . The first televised debate (NBC/Lester Holt) is scheduled for September 26. VP candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence will debate on October 4.
It is possible that Johnson and/or Stein will meet the debate criteria (or revised criteria) to qualify for the second scheduled presidential debate (CNN/Anderson Cooper and ABC/Martha Raddatz) on October 9, or the third scheduled presidential debate (Fox/ Chris Wallace) on October 19.
September 16, 2016
Washington (CNN) Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein will not participate in the first presidential debate, and their running mates will not be in the vice presidential debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Friday. The decision means Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will be the only two candidates on the stage on September 26, and Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, their respective running mates, will be the only participants on October 4. The candidates needed to make a 15% polling threshold across several major national polls in order to qualify for the debates. The commission determined that the polling averages for the candidates had Clinton at 43%, Trump at 40.4%, Johnson at 8.4% and Stein at 3.2%.
Johnson has publicly said that being excluded from the debates would doom his campaign. Johnson said he wasn't surprised by the decision to "exclude" him from the first debate. "There are more polls and more debates, and we plan to be on the debate stage in October," Johnson said in a statement.
Stein said in a statement that she plans to show up with "hundreds" of supporters outside the event. "We will be at the debate to insist that Americans not only have a right to vote, but we have a right to know who we can vote for," she said.
Neither Johnson nor Stein satisfied the 15% support-threshold of the five polls recognized by the the Commission on Presidential Debates . The first televised debate (NBC/Lester Holt) is scheduled for September 26. VP candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence will debate on October 4.
It is possible that Johnson and/or Stein will meet the debate criteria (or revised criteria) to qualify for the second scheduled presidential debate (CNN/Anderson Cooper and ABC/Martha Raddatz) on October 9, or the third scheduled presidential debate (Fox/ Chris Wallace) on October 19.