Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said that shes skipping the next Democratic presidential debate.
Gabbard threatened to skip the one in November but ultimately took the stage.
In a statement late Dec. 9, Gabbard said, “For a number of reasons, I have decided not to attend the December 19th debate—regardless of whether or not there are qualifying polls.”
“I instead choose to spend that precious time directly meeting with and hearing from the people of New Hampshire and South Carolina,” she said, referring to two early voting states.
For a number of reasons, I have decided not to attend the December 19th “debate” — regardless of whether or not there are qualifying polls. I instead choose to spend that precious time directly meeting with and hearing from the people of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) December 10, 2019
Gabbard, 38, has repeatedly criticized the Democratic National Committee (DNC), alleging inconsistent thresholds for qualifying for the debates. Gabbard last month accused the committee of “being arbitrary and inconsistent” for declining to accept a poll from Suffolk University.
The committee accepts the university as a pollster when paired with USA Today but the poll in question was conducted for the Boston Globe.
“The Boston Globe is the largest newspaper in New Hampshire. The pollster the Globe uses is recognized by the DNC for other media outlets; there is no reason the DNC should not recognize this Boston Globe poll, other than adherence to a subjective, nontransparent process where party elites try to dictate to the primary voters,” Gabbard said in a statement.
The DNC has not responded to Gabbards criticism.
