Tuesday night, voters will get their first chance to see the Democratic presidential candidates duke it out in a nationally televised debate. Jim Webb, and Rhode Island’s former USA senator and governor Lincoln Chafee state their positions, take aim at each other and their Republican counterparts.
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Donald Trump won’t be there, of course, but you can be sure the name will be broached more than the sitting president’s (who will barely be mentioned).
In the run-up to Tuesday’s debate, there are signs that they could.
But as the candidates prepare to take the stage for their first debate, a new poll shows both the Democratic and Republican front-runners are scoring high in a category they probably want to avoid.
So much so that the online activism group Roots Action has launched a one-sentence petition to CNN: “For the sake of basic fairness and balance, you should add to your panel an unapologetic progressive for Tuesday’s debate”.
For good or bad, Republicans have engaged a massive swath of the country with their first two debates, which were watched by 25 million and 23 million people, respectively. And when checking the October 2007 Democratic debate number (hosted by MSNBC at that time), the number at that stage of the campaign season drops to 2.45 million. This live event will give viewers access to the debate across all platforms to showcase the value of TV Everywhere. Clinton and Sanders consistently have a larger social media presence than any GOP candidate besides Trump. And unlike numerous other Republican candidates, the Democrats are downright predictable.
“This is a serious debate”.
Moderator: Anderson Cooper will moderate, and Dana Bush and Juan Carlos Lopez will also ask questions.
What time? The debate will run 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 13, Pacific time.
Join in: You can submit questions for consideration using Facebook and Instagram.
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Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, who says he has raised more than $1 million from a devoted base of supporters but is polling at or below 1 percent, was not invited.
