DNC Chair Defends Criteria for Debates

DNC Chair Tom Perez is defending the strict qualifications for the second round of primary debates in September: meeting the thresholds to qualify is an “opportunity” for candidates to expand their fundraising and name recognition, he told CBS News.

Said Perez: “If you can’t run an effective grassroots campaign in the year 2020, in today’s era, you’re not going to be able to win the presidency,” Perez said. “And what our dual threshold has done is to give additional opportunity to the candidates.”