We’re down to seven candidates onstage for Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate, with just two women and one person of color, in marked contrast to earlier debates. Sen. Kamala Harris had qualified for this debate, but dropped out ahead of it. The debate also happens in the immediate wake of the impeachment of Donald Trump.
The candidates debating will be former Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar; Mayor Pete Buttigieg; internet sensation Andrew Yang; and billionaire Tom Steyer. Many eyes will be on whether Buttigieg and Warren clash, as they’ve been targeting each other for criticism much more directly in recent weeks. Similarly, as Biden hangs on at the top of polls, will anyone take another run at him, and if so, who will it be? The same could be said of Sanders, whose candidacy has actually rebounded after a heart attack. There’s one more debate before the Iowa caucuses (which are 46 days away), but this is the chance to reshape the race going into the holidays.
The debate will begin at 8 PM ET and run for two and a half to three hours. Candidates will have a whopping 75 seconds to answer questions, with 45 seconds for rebuttals and follow-ups. The debate is hosted by PBS and Politico and will be moderated by Judy Woodruff, Amna Nawaz, and Yamiche Alcindor of PBS and Tim Alberta of Politico. You can watch it on PBS or CNN and stream it at PBS.org, PBS NewsHour, Politico.com, and CNN.com.