On edge: 2020 Dems face prospect of being cut from debates

MIAMI — The largest presidential field in modern Democratic politics could quickly shrink as more than half of the contenders are in real danger of failing to meet tougher requirements to participate in the fall round of debates. The dynamic has some larger donors worried that their money is being used to build out the small-donor network instead of a traditional campaign operation “No one wants to give anyone money to buy donors,” said Robert Wolf, a former economic adviser to Obama. And the message behind many online ads has been focused on qualifying for debates — not “persuasion” ads that highlight Democrats’ plans or Trump’s weaknesses. Online ads aimed at boosting the number of small-dollar donors dominated digital spending between the end of March and late June, according to an Associated Press analysis of fundraising records and online ad data compiled by the Democratic digital firm Bully Pulpit Interactive. Since the debate, Castro’s campaign peppered social media with donation requests and sold T-shirts featuring one of his closing lines: “Adios Trump.” In the two days immediately after the debate, they blasted out at least 10 emails asking for money to help qualify for the next round.