SAD: Democratic Debates Announced. Warren Gets Left At Kids' Table.
By Hank Berrien
The Democratic Party, as always, favoring fairness over merit, held a random drawing to determine which candidates would appear in the two debates scheduled for June 26-27 in Florida, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) got left at the kids' table.
The New York Times tried to put the best spin on the situation, arguing that Warren, who is running third in most polls behind former vice-president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who are both in the June 27 debate, will face-off against Beto O'Rourke, but O'Rourke's recent poll numbers show that he is not currently a serious candidate in the race. The Times wrote, "Elizabeth Warren will share the stage with Beto O'Rourke on one night, and Joseph R. Biden Jr. will face off against Bernie Sanders on the next …"
20 candidates will participate in the debates, ten on each night, which will be shown on NBC. The Times noted that Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Fla., "did not meet the polling and fund-raising criteria outlined by the Democratic National Committee," and thus will not be part of the debates.
Politico reported that DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa told Fox News, "I think both nights will get amazing viewership. I think we're already starting to hear, people are extremely excited about these candidates. I think they're both very strong lineups. I think that you will also hear candidates respond to each other on various nights."
The anchors for the debates will be Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt and Chuck Todd, the Telemundo anchor José Díaz-Balart, and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow.
The first night's debate will feature Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. (D-NJ), Julián Castro, former housing secretary in the Obama administration, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, former representative from Maryland, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Beto O'Rourke, former representative from Texas, and Tim Ryan, representative from Ohio.
The second night will feature former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Marianne Williamson, self-help author, and Andrew Yang, former tech executive.
Read More: Bernie Sanders Beto O'Rourke Elizabeth Warren Joe Biden Kamala Harris Kirsten Gillibrand Pete Buttigieg