Perez on Dem debates and plan to thin the 2020 herd _00000000.jpg
Perez on Dem debates and plan to thin the 2020 herd
04:56 - Source: CNN
WASHINGTON CNN  — 

Eight of the major Democratic presidential contenders spent more than half of their Facebook advertising dollars over a two-month period on ads that mentioned either “debate” or “stage” – a stark sign of how much new donor requirements to join nationally televised debates are driving campaign spending.

The spending on those topics was led by Julian Castro, whose campaign pumped nearly $335,000 – or 87% – of all his Facebook advertising into ads that mentioned the debates, according to a CNN analysis of data compiled by Bully Pulpit Interactive, a digital communications agency aligned with Democrats.

In second place: Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, who spent nearly $278,000 on ads that mentioned the debate, or 70% of his total Facebook ad spend during the period examined.

The analysis covered advertising between March 30 and May 26. The ads may have mentioned other topics, but all included either of those two words.

Last month, following a flurry of last-minute pleas, Castro’s campaign hit the 65,000-donor threshold – one of two ways Democrats can qualify to participate in the first two Democratic National Committee debates. Candidates also can qualify by registering at least 1% in three polls.

Inslee’s campaign said he hit 65,000 donors late last month.

Skewed priorities?

Critics of the DNC’s debate criteria argue it has skewed candidates’ campaign priorities, forcing little-known contenders to spend heavily to convert potential supporters into donors – rather than plowing money into building ground operations in early voting states.

And the debate stakes are growing even higher: The DNC has doubled the qualifying thresholds that 2020 candidates must meet to participate in the third and fourth set of primary debates later this year.

“The DNC put this goal out there, and it’s like a bone for a dog to chase,” one Democratic digital strategist told CNN this week. “The dog can’t take its eyes off the bone.”å

“The debate ads are a tactic,” he added. “They are not a strategy for building a campaign.”

Officials with the campaigns of Castro and Inslee did not immediately respond to interview requests. But some campaigns have publicly chafed at the debate requirements. Last month, for instance, Castro spokeswoman Jennifer Fiore told CNN that the pressure to donate to help Castro meet the debate requirements was “stressful” for supporters.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand this week still was imploring donors to help her reach the 65,000-donor mark to qualify for the first two sets of Democratic debates in June and July. In a recent interview with CNN, she called the donor requirement “an odd measurable.”

“Why do you make that your measurable as opposed to have you won elections before and have you ever run statewide before and how many votes have you gotten before and have you passed legislation and are you effective in your job?”

Former Maryland congressman John Delaney, who is largely self-financing his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, last week sent a letter to the DNC, asking for more information on how it set debate criteria.

Grassroots strength

Betsy Hoover, a Democratic digital strategist and partner at 270 Strategies, said she doesn’t necessarily agree with the “weird incentives” the DNC has established. But she said the debate-focused advertising is working and spurring donors to open their wallets.

“People want a primary. They want a debate, and they want people who want to be on the stage to be there,” she told CNN.

DNC officials have defended the requirements as a fair and transparent way to winnow for the debate stage a field that includes nearly two dozen major candidates. They argue it’s also a way to give small-dollar donors a bigger voice in choosing the party’s standard-bearer.

“You can’t win the presidency in the modern era if you can’t build relationships with the grassroots,” DNC chairman Tom Perez told CNN over the weekend.

To qualify for the first two rounds of debates – to be held on June 26-27 in Miami and July 30-31 in Detroit – candidates have to hit 1% on three national or early state polls or receive donations from 65,000 unique contributors, including 200 donors each from 20 states.

Only 20 candidates will make the debate stage. If more than 20 qualify, the DNC will prioritize the candidates who meet both the polling and debate threshold, then candidates who had the highest polling average and finally, the candidates who had the most unique donors.

Under rules announced last week by the DNC, the standards to qualify for the third and fourth sets of primary debates get harder. Candidates will have to receive money from 130,000 unique donors – including 400 unique contributors across at least 20 states – and achieve 2% in four polls to qualify for the September and October debates.

Only four Democratic candidates have previously announced having at least 130,000 donors: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; California Sen. Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The race already is on to meet the new threshold.

In an email to supporters this week, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s campaign team called the new, 130,000-donor requirement “an incredibly high bar for anybody to meet.”

“That means we need your help,” the email added, “whether you’re all in for Cory of just think he belongs on that debate stage.”

CNN’s Dan Merica contributed reporting.