The Commission for Presidential Debates announced Friday afternoon that only Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have high enough polling numbers to qualify to take part in the first presidential debate, Politico reports.
A candidate must be polling at 10 percent or higher to earn a spot for their podium and, according to the CPD, Libertarian Gary Johnson is polling at only 8.4 percent. Jill Stein’s numbers are hovering around 3 percent, meaning that neither of them will qualify for the first debate on September 26.
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That isn’t to say we aren’t going to see a third-party candidate squeeze their way onto the debate stage at some point, though. If support for Johnson or Stein pushes either of them up past the 10-percent mark before the second and third debate rolls around, the commission will light up another spotlight on stage for them.
But for now, the debate is lining up to just be a slugfest between the two major candidates, as it usually is. There will also be a moderator, no matter how hard Trump rails against it.
Read: What Does Trump Need to Do to Lose This Election?
Photo of Gary Johnson via Flickr user Gage Skidmore
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