Bullock to participate in local town halls instead of Democratic debates

After failing to qualify for the first Democratic presidential debates next week, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock says he will spend those days participating in local town halls, Politico reported Tuesday.

On June 26, Bullock will travel to Iowa and appear on WHO-TV; the next day he’ll be in New Hampshire for an appearance on WMUR, according to Politico. His televised appearances will take place before the debates start in Miami.

Bullock, a virtual unknown who didn’t enter the primary race until the middle of last month, did not reach the required 1 percent support in three qualifying polls or acquire 65,000 donors.{mosads}

Bullock claimed he met the polling threshold ahead of the debate lineup announcements, but the Democratic National Committee (DNC) disagreed, saying one of the polls Bullock was counting didn’t count. DNC Chairman Tom Perez has stood behind the organization’s rule, saying “we gave folks a fair shake.”

Twenty Democrats vying for the party’s nomination will take part in the debates, with 10 candidates onstage each night.

Aside from Bullock, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) and Miramar, Fla., Mayor Wayne Messam did not make the stage.

Moulton has also made other plans for the debate days, telling Fox News he’ll go to Miami anyway to “share my story.”