Vice President Joe Biden will be allowed to participate in the first Democratic presidential debate if he decides to enter the race, according to CNN's debate criteria released Monday.
To participate in the Oct. 13 debate hosted by CNN, candidates must declare their intent to run by that date and have an average of 1 percent in three national polls released between Aug. 1 and Oct. 10.
Biden, 72, has been holding third place in the polls with an average of 20 percent. In a national Bloomberg poll released Wednesday, he ranked in second place ahead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and only 8 percentage points away from front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, Sanders and the three other mainstream Democratic candidates — Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee — have been invited to the debate at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, according to CNN.
Biden said he is still considering whether he is emotionally prepared to mount what would be his third presidential campaign and support his family at the same time. The Bidens are still grieving the loss of their son and brother, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden.
He said in an interview last week with the Catholic magazine America that he may not make the decision in time for the debate, and that his family's readiness for a run should not be rushed.
"It's just not there yet and it may not get there in time to make it feasible to be able to run and succeed because there are certain windows that will close," said Biden. "But if that's it, that's it. It's not like I can rush it."
But if he does wish to participate, his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, said she would be fully on board, as HNGN previously reported. All Biden would need to do is file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission or declare his intention to do so, according to Newsweek.
The DNC sanctioned debate, moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, will be the first of six for the Democrats. It will air live at 9 p.m. EST on CNN, CNN en Español and CNN International, and will be streamed on CNNgo, according to the network.
