Democrats announce location of second presidential primary debate
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced Tuesday that its second presidential primary debate will take place on July 30 and 31 in Detroit, Michigan. Like the location of the first debate -- Miami, Florida -- Detroit is the largest city in a critical swing state that supported President Trump in 2016.
"Detroit embodies the values and character of the Democratic Party," said DNC Chair Tom Perez in a statement. "It's a city of grit and determination, a city that has gotten knocked down only to get back up stronger. With its diversity, its storied history, and its proud ties to the labor movement, Detroit is the perfect place for our party's second debate."
The debate will be broadcast live on CNN. Given the large number of Democratic candidates, the debates will be held on back-to-back nights, with the lineups for each night to be chosen at random.
There will be 12 primary debates in total. The DNC made waves earlier in March for announcing it would not partner with Fox News for a debate.
In February, the DNC detailed the criteria candidates must meet to be included in the first two debates. Each candidate must have at least 1 percent support in three separate polls from a list of reputable state and national polling outfits determined by the committee. Candidates must also meet two fundraising thresholds: donations from at least 65,000 individuals, and 200 unique donors from at least 20 states.
Candidates who meet both criteria will be included in the debate. If more than 20 candidates meet the threshold, the DNC said it will use "a methodology that gives primacy to candidates meeting both thresholds, followed by the highest polling average, followed by the most unique donors" to determine participants.
The format is meant to give "all types of candidates the opportunity to reach the debate stage and [give] small-dollar donors a bigger voice in the primary than ever before," Perez said at the time.
The DNC came under fire during the 2016 primaries for initially limiting the number of debates, which many supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders saw as an effort to shield Hillary Clinton from competition.
Stefan Becket contributed to this report.
