Two weeks ago, East Bay presidential candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell was dialing for dollars–literally–in a bid to rack up more than 65,000 individual donors (200 from at least 20 states) to his upstart campaign in order to qualify for pivotal debates that start this June.

Although the Swalwell campaign has not released fundraising information since he announced his run for president on April 8, it won’t matter for now, at least, for inclusion on the debate stage later this year.

Under the Democratic Party rules, presidential candidates have another avenue for qualifying for the debates by gaining a minimum of one percent in three polls recognized by the party. On Tuesday, Swalwell did just that.

A new CNN poll registered one percent for Swalwell. It is the third such one percent showing for the East Bay Democrat. Former Vice-President Joe Biden led the poll with 39 percent.

The effort to attract at least 65,000 individual donors, however, must continue. That’s because the sheer number of Democratic presidential candidates, currently at 20, could give preference to those have attained both benchmarks.

According to The New York Times, three other candidates have yet to qualify for the debates. They are Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, who recently joined the race; Florida Mayor Wayne Messum; and author Marianne Williamson.

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