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Tonight is the Democratic debate, but why aren’t Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden in the debate tonight? Where are they? The answer is simple: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are going to be in tomorrow night’s debate, not tonight’s. There are two Democratic debates in a row this week. The first is tonight, June 26, and the second debate is tomorrow night, June 27. That’s when Biden and Sanders are appearing. There were simply too many candidates to all appear tonight.
The DNC randomly drew names for who would attend the debates from two groups: those who polled 2 percent or higher and those who polled below 2 percent. This was an attempt to make sure the debates weren’t too lopsided, but it didn’t seem to quite work out. Tomorrow night’s debate has four out five of the highest polling candidates – everyone except Elizabeth Warren, who is in tonight’s debate. Tomorrow night, Sanders and Biden will be standing next to each other in the center of the stage because they’re the highest polling candidates in the group. It will be the first time that the two have shared a stage since running for President.
When the names were drawn, Sanders’ name was the first candidate drawn, The New York Times reported. It wasn’t long after that Biden’s name was drawn for the same night, which was quite a surprise to many people watching the drawing.
The candidates who are in tomorrow night’s debate are Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang, Joe Biden, John Hickenlooper, Pete Buttigieg, Eric Swalwell, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Michael Bennet.
Most fans of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden both think it’s for the best that the two are sharing the debate stage tomorrow night. Some supporters of candidates who are in tonight’s debate, however, wish that their candidates were on the stage with Biden and Sanders. Beto O’Rourke supporters, Tulsi Gabbard supports, and Elizabeth Warren supporters alike would likely prefer that their candidates were on the stage tomorrow night. The upside, however, is that with the two poll leaders featured tomorrow, more of the spotlight can be shared with the candidates who are in tonight’s debate.
