DNC Announces Details For Fourth Presidential Primary Debate

DNC Announces Details For Fourth Presidential Primary Debate

CNN, The New York Times to host fourth debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio

Today, the DNC announced that CNN and The New York Times, will co-host the fourth debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. The debate will occur on October 15, and potentially October 16, if needed.

CNN and the New York Times also announced today that the debate will be moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett, and by Marc Lacey of the New York Times. Format will be announced at a future date.

Last year, DNC Chair Tom Perez announced that his goals for the Democratic presidential primary debates are to (1) give the grassroots a bigger voice than ever before; (2) showcase our candidates on an array of media platforms; (3) present an opportunity for vigorous discussion about issues, ideas and solutions; and (4) reach as many potential voters as possible. Perez announced 12 presidential primary debates to be held over the course of the 2020 cycle.

The debate will air live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, and stream on CNN.com's homepage and NYTimes.com’s homepage. In addition, the debate will be available across mobile devices via CNN's and The New York Times’s apps for iOS and Android, via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV, SiriusXM Channels 116, 454, 795, the Westwood One Radio Network and National Public Radio. Our broadcast partners are fully committed to providing accessible communications for deaf and disabled audiences as well.

To qualify for the October debate, candidates must meet both the Polling Threshold and the Grassroots Fundraising Threshold, as detailed below:

1. Polling Threshold. Candidates must receive 2% or more support in at least four polls (which may be national polls, or polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and/or Nevada) meeting the following criteria (“Qualifying Poll Criteria”):

o Each poll must be sponsored by an approved organization, which presently includes the following: Associated Press, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Des Moines Register, Fox News, Monmouth University, NBC News, New York Times, National Public Radio (NPR), Quinnipiac University, University of New Hampshire, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and Winthrop University. Any candidate’s four qualifying polls must be conducted by different organizations, or if by the same organization, must be in different geographical areas. The DNC and its media partners reserve the right to add a Nevada-specific poll sponsor to this list in the near future.

o Each poll must be publicly released between June 28, 2019, and October 1, 2019.

o Each poll’s candidate support question must have been conducted by reading or presenting a list of Democratic presidential primary candidates to respondents. (Poll questions using an open-ended or un-aided question to gauge presidential primary support will not count).

o Each polling result must be the top-line number listed in the original public release from the approved sponsoring organization/institution, whether or not it is a rounded or weighted number.

2. Grassroots Fundraising Threshold. Candidates must submit a certification, executed by the Presidential candidate’s campaign Treasurer, demonstrating that the campaign has received donations from a minimum of (1) 130,000 unique donors; and (2) 400 unique donors per state in at least 20 U.S. states. Qualifying donations must be received by 11:59 P.M. on October 1, 2019. An acceptable certification must provide or attach adequate verifiable evidence to show that the fundraising threshold has been reached and may include verification from ActBlue or NGP VAN regarding the campaign’s fundraising.