Presidential candidates Julian Castro and Tom Steyer are wondering why a qualifying Nevada poll sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has not been released before Wednesday’s deadline for September’s presidential debate.
Nevada holds its caucuses after the New Hampshire primary and before South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary, and Castro reportedly said on Tuesday that “there is no reason” for there not to be a Nevada poll that counts for September’s debate.
“There should absolutely be a poll out of Nevada,” Castro reportedly said. “They vote third. Nevada does matter.”
Steyer’s team has also called on the DNC to release a Nevada poll, and the former hedge fund manager even taken out Facebook advertisements urging the DNC to include more polls. Steyer has reportedly invested considerable resources on the ground in Nevada.
Castro has qualified for September’s debate. Steyer has reached 2% in three qualifying polls, and he needs to hit 2% in one of the national polls (either Quinnipia’s national poll or USA Today/Suffolk University’s national poll) that will be released on Wednesday, which is the deadline for September’s ABC/Univision debate.