Day two of the first Democratic debate will feature fascinating match ups. Because there are so many candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, the DNC split the field into two different days. You can watch a live stream of Thursday’s debate below.
Although the candidates were assigned different days randomly, most of the candidates who are highest in the polls (such as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders) are taking the stage on Thursday, June 27, 2019. What could make the night especially interesting: They’re squaring off against some far lesser known people, such as Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, and Pete Buttigieg, who is always good for a colorful quote.
If you watched Wednesday’s half, you were treated to quite a show; who do you think won the debate on Wednesday? Vote in Heavy’s poll here, and read our summary of winners and losers for day 1 here.
How can you watch Thursday’s Democratic debate online? You can watch a live stream of tonight’s debate here:
How else to watch the first Democratic debate? “The debate will stream online free on NBC News’ digital platforms, including NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, the NBC News Mobile App and OTT apps on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, in addition to Telemundo’s digital platforms,” NBC News announced. “NBC News will also stream the debates live and in full on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.” You can find NBC News’ YouTube channel here.
Here’s what else you need to know about the debate:
The Debate Lineup & Schedule
Gettywatch a live stream of the Democratic debate.
Wednesday’s candidates: Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Mike Delaney, Bill de Blasio, and Tim Ryan.
Thursday’s candidates: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang.
The challenge for the moderators, of course: Finding a way to control the timing so that viewers get a sense of where each candidate stands, with so many people crowding the stage and only two hours to work with – with commercial breaks.
When: Part 2 of the first Democratic debate airs Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., eastern time.
Where: The debate is being broadcast by NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo. It’s being held in Miami, Florida.
Moderators: Well-known NBC personalities are acting as moderators: Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Rachel Maddow, Jose Diaz-Balart, and Chuck Todd.
NBC News has announced various debate rules. “Candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups. And there will be no opening statements, though candidates will have a chance to deliver closing remarks,” the network explained. Cutting even more so into each candidate’s chance to make an impression, there will be a lot of commercial breaks, according to NBC.
Each debate will consist of “five segments each night separated by four commercial breaks,” the network says.
“It’s a little bit of exaggeration calling it a debate,” former Vice President Joe Biden joked, according to NBC. “It’s like a lightning round.” He has a point. Or maybe it’s like political speed dating.
After Thursday, you’ll have to wait until July for the next Democratic primary debate: July 30 and 31 on CNN.
For the candidates, the stakes are high. You don’t get a second chance to make a good impression. If you’re former Vice President Joe Biden, you have perhaps the most to lose because a person leading in the polls can only stay the same or go down.
The Democratic Party’s decision to neutralize the power of the super delegates perceived as not giving Bernie Sanders a fighting chance also makes the primary more interesting and gives hope to more candidates than a presumed front runner.