The Note: Deadline day on debates brings new urgency to Democratic race

The TAKE with Rick Klein

Winnowing is not the same as winning.

But Wednesday brings perhaps the most meaningful deadline in the Democratic primary race to date.

Only Democratic National Committee-sanctioned polls released by midnight will help candidates make the September debate, which will air on ABC and Univision.

With 10 candidates already in and just one new national qualifying poll from Quinnipiac University expected Wednesday morning after the USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released earlier in the day didn't help anyone, the race for 2% has truly never meant this much.

At stake for the candidates who are out is a spot on the stage and, therefore, in the conversation.

Those already in, meanwhile, know that just one more candidate qualifying means another two-night affair.

The month since the last debate has seen three major Democratic candidates drop out. Not making the next stage may not directly cause anyone to exit, but it won't make staying any easier.

Democrats happen to be in the midst of a debate about electability. Long before that's settled, though, comes judgments about viability.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

It is true: No one has figured out how to stop hurricanes.

On Monday, President Donald Trump was frustrated by headlines about whether he had actually suggested blowing up storms with nuclear weapons, and on Tuesday he was just plain annoyed that the storms keep coming.

"Wow! Yet another big storm heading to Puerto Rico. Will it ever end?" he tweeted.

Whom exactly he was asking remains unclear.

Cursing the universe will, of course, not stop potential floods or life-threatening winds. Tropical Storm Dorian could make landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Tuesday night, the White House said Trump had issued an emergency aid declaration for the commonwealth.

It's likely that ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria two years ago are making preparations this week feel both more challenging and more urgent on the island. The emotional wounds from the last round of political storms between the president and local leaders probably aren't helping either.

The president lamented this week how much it cost the federal government to help with recovery in Puerto Rico after Maria hit, though many on the ground and around the mainland U.S. accused his administration of a slow and subpar response.

The TIP with Benjamin Siegel

No debate? No problem -- at least for some of the candidates trailing the front-runners in the Democratic primary ahead of Wednesday's qualifying deadline.

"This love train is on a roll," Marianne Williamson told reporters last week when asked about the possibility of missing the Democratic National Committee's requirements for September's debate in Houston, hosted by ABC News.

"I'm just beginning," former Navy admiral and congressman Joe Sestak, who only entered the race in June, told ABC News.

"My strategy is really simple: Stay in the race, the field's really big, it will get smaller," former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland said on MSNBC Sunday.

And for those on the bubble for the Houston debate, including billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is returning to the campaign trail after a two-week Hawaii Army National Guard deployment, they're still close to qualifying later this fall for another debate.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Wednesday morning's episode features ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers and ABC News' Victor Oquendo who tell us the different ways Trump and the residents of Puerto Rico are preparing for Tropical Storm Dorian. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

ABC News' "Powerhouse Politics" podcast. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., joins ABC News Political Director Rick Klein to talk about the efforts to develop legislation that would address the gun violence epidemic. Murphy told reporters on Friday that despite recent mixed signals from Trump, he believes the White House is still committed to moving forward on "meaningful background check legislation." Murphy also was one of two senators denied a visa as part of an official delegation to Russia for talks with their counterparts in the country's parliament. https://apple.co/2Zfz5nD

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