Article snippet: WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that 20 candidates have qualified for the party’s first presidential debates later this month. Representative Seth Moulton, the Salem Democrat, and Montana Governor Steve Bullock were the only major candidates who failed to meet the polling or grass-roots fundraising measures required to get a debate spot. US Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently had been on the bubble, both made the cut based on polling measures. The campaign’s opening debates, set for June 26-27 in Miami, will offer a prime opportunity for many White House hopefuls to reshape a race defined in recent weeks by former Vice President Joe Biden’s domination of national and many early state polls. Bullock’s campaign insists he has reached a party benchmark of a minimum 1 percent in at least three polls by approved organizations. But party officials say Bullock is wrongly counting a Washington Post-ABC poll from February. An NBC News drawing Friday will divide the large field between the first and second debate night. Party officials have promised to weight the drawing with the intention of ensuring that top tier and lagging candidates are spread roughly evenly over the two nights. Those assignments will determine the debate strategies for many campaigns. Candidates will have to decide whether to go after front-runners such as Biden, challenge others in the pack or stand out by remaining ab... Link to the full article to read more