'We're in!' Andrew Yang's campaign manager notifies him mid-interview he's made the debate stage

Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register
Updated

DES MOINES — Just a few minutes into Andrew Yang's meeting with the Des Moines Register's editorial board Tuesday, his campaign manager motioned for his attention, holding a piece of paper above his head with a hastily scrawled message:

"4%! We're in!"

With just days left until this week's deadline, Yang secured the final poll he needed to qualify for the Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles next month. Campaign manager Zach Graumann wasted no time in letting his candidate know.

Yang will join six others who have already qualified, including: former vice president Joe Biden; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; businessman Tom Steyer; and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

To qualify, each candidate needed to reach 4% in four approved national polls or 6% in two early-state polls, as well as receive contributions from 200,000 unique donors.

Yang claimed his last needed 4% showing with the release of a national poll from Quinnipiac University on Tuesday.

Yang is among those who have been critical of the debate formats. He told the Register on Tuesday he would "change them significantly" if he could.

Zach Graumann, Andrew Yang's campaign manager, holds up a sign for the candidate as he speaks to the Register's Editorial Board on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, to let him know the results of the latest Quinnipiac Poll, which were released Tuesday.
Zach Graumann, Andrew Yang's campaign manager, holds up a sign for the candidate as he speaks to the Register's Editorial Board on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, to let him know the results of the latest Quinnipiac Poll, which were released Tuesday.

"I think that 60 seconds or 75 seconds is the wrong time frame to try and convey a complicated set of ideas or policies to the American people," he said. "I think that having a dynamic that rewards fights or conflict is something that the American people are tired of — where you can predict the dynamics on stage based upon where people are in the polling, and what they signal to the press. And the format right now rewards that sort of thing."

Immediately after the interview at the Register's offices in downtown Des Moines, Yang headed to the state Capitol where he kicked off a five-day bus tour of the state.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Election 2020: Andrew Yang qualifies for December debate debate