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No Candidates of Color in 7th Democratic Debate

VOA News

   WASHINGTON - The head of the Democratic Party, Tom Perez, insists the
   party is committed to diversity even though Tuesdaynight'spresidential
   debate in Iowa will be the first all-white debate of the 2020 campaign.

   Since the last Democratic showdown in December,Senator Cory Booker of
   New Jersey, an African American, and Latino candidate Julian Castro --
   the former mayor of San Antonio and federal housing secretary --dropped
   out of the race for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S.
   President Donald Trump in November..

   Among the remaining candidates, Asian-American entrepreneur Andrew
   Yang; Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Samoan American; and the
   black former governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, did not qualify
   for Tuesday's face-off only weeks before the Iowa Caucuses.

   All three failed to meet the criteria set up by the party. They include
   polling at least 5% in four polls and raising funds from at least
   225,000 individual donors.

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