Michael Bloomberg has qualified for his second Democratic primary debate as he prepares to take the stage and face his rivals for the first time Wednesday night.
The former Big Apple mayor met the qualification requirements thanks to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll released Tuesday that placed him in third with 14 percent support behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden.
In order to qualify for the Feb. 25 debate in Charleston, South Carolina, candidates need to reach 10 percent support in four national, DNC-approved polls or 12 percent in two South Carolina polls released between Feb. 4 and Feb. 24.
Candidates could have also qualified by getting at least one delegate out of the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary — except Bloomberg entered the race too late to compete in either.
Thus far, five other candidates have qualified along with Bloomberg: Biden, Sanders, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Fellow billionaire businessman Tom Steyer has not qualified for either of the two debates.
In late January, the DNC announced a major revision to its qualification criteria that paved the way for Bloomberg’s inclusion.
Bloomberg was originally ineligible to qualify for Democratic debates because he is self-funding his entire campaign and accepting no donations, which left him unable to meet the previous donor requirements.
A request for confirmation from Bloomberg’s campaign by The Post that the ex-mayor would attend the South Carolina debate was not immediately answered.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey said of his appearance at Wednesday’s debate: “Mike is looking forward to joining the other Democratic candidates on stage and making the case for why he’s the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump and unite the country.”
“Since Mike launched his campaign 13 weeks ago, he’s met with voters in 25 states and 62 cities. Our crowds continue to grow, and our coalition continues to broaden,” Sheeky added. “There’s a desire in every corner of this country for a proven leader, for someone who will stand up to bullies and special interests and get things done. That person is Mike Bloomberg, and we look forward to more Americans seeing that on Wednesday night.”
