The debates will be an all-day affair.
Via Daily Mail:
Democrats will hold 12 primary debates to whittle down what’s expected to be a massive field for the 2020 presidential nomination, the party announced Thursday.
The early announcement comes as several Democrats are weighing whether or not to campaign for the party’s presidential nomination in the coming year.
The early announcement and heavy schedule are also likely a move to counter the criticism the party faced in 2016 that the debate schedule between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders was too short and was ‘rigged.’
For its 2020 nomination, the Democratic National Committee announced the party will hold six primary debates in 2019 and six in 2020.
‘My goal in this framework is to give the grassroots a bigger voice than ever before; to showcase our candidates on an array of media platforms; to present opportunity for vigorous discussion about issues, ideas and solutions; and to reach as many potential voters as possible. That is how we will put our nominee in the strongest position possible to defeat Donald Trump, and how we will help elect Democrats up and down the ballot,’ DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement.
Sanders and his supporters had called for more debates and better timing for the scheduled contests – some of which took place on Saturday nights or holiday weekends, which brought lower viewership.
Originally the party sanctioned just six presidential debates in the last cycle but eventually held nine.
Leaked emails from DNC emails posted by WikiLeaks shortly before the 2016 Democratic convention revealed officials had tilted the process toward Clinton. Then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned as a result of the revelation.
For the coming contest, the first two debates will take place in June and July 2019.