Why Isn’t Elizabeth Warren in Tonight’s Debate?

Tonight seems to be a lineup of the A-listers in the Democratic primary, with Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden figuring prominently in the debate. But where’s Elizabeth Warren? Why isn’t she debating tonight?

Elizabeth Warren isn’t on stage tonight because she already debated. Tonight’s debate is the second DNC debate. Last night was the first Democratic debate, and Elizabeth Warren was part of that lineup.

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. Tonight’s debate had four out five of the highest polling candidates – everyone except Elizabeth Warren, who was in last night’s debate.

The candidates for last night’s debate were Julian Castro, Beto O’Rourke, John Delaney, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and Jay Inslee.

Some people thought it was unfair that Warren was left out of tonight’s debate, but others thought it might be better for Warren. Warren got to stand on the center of the stage last night since she was the highest polling of the candidates on Wednesday night. You can rewatch the debate below.

Still, people are divided on whether or not Warren’s placement is ultimately good for her or not. Opinions were mixed. The names were chosen at random, but odds were high that the placements would seem strange to some extent no matter who was chosen for which night.

Some think it’s better that Warren isn’t in tonight’s debate. This means she won’t have to share the spotlight as much and she’ll likely stand out. But others think it might hurt her, since tonight’s debate likely has a higher viewership than last night’s.