Bernie Will Take On Biden During the First Round of Democratic Debates
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is slated to go up in a debate against the only Democratic opponent who has consistently been polling ahead of him, former Vice President Joe Biden.
The Democratic National Committee announced Thursday the 20 presidential candidates invited to participate in the first round of primary debates, and a day later the DNC revealed the breakout of who is scheduled to appear on which of the two debate stages.
The debates are scheduled for June 26 and 27 in Miami.
The two front-runners, Biden and Sanders, won’t be on until June 27.
The June 26 lineup, according to NBC, is Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; New York Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Rep. John Delaney; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii; Washington Gov. Jay Inslee; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; former Rep. Beto O’Rourke; Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio; and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Besides Biden and Sanders on June 27, the candidates are Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Cal.; Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Cal.; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; and author Marianne Williamson
Winnowing the crowded Democratic field down to manageable size for the debates left some hurt feelings in the party.
In order to score one of the debate podiums, candidates must have either received donations from at least 65,000 unique donors (with a minimum of 200 donors in more than 19 states) or received at least 1 percent support in three DNC-approved polls.
Who got a spot at which debate was reportedly determined by a random draw of the qualifying candidates. (RELATED: First Presidential Debate Stage Is Set)
Biden and Sanders have been polling as the two top contenders for the Democratic nomination since as far back as October 2018, before either man officially announced his candidacy.
However, Sanders has yet to post a lead over the former vice president.
Sanders unsuccessfully ran a 2016 presidential campaign on the Democratic ticket.
Although his run was initially considered a long-shot bid, Sanders won 23 primaries and caucuses.
He also won more than 45 percent of pledged delegates, compared to eventual nominee Hillary Clinton’s 54 percent.
Biden, the favorite of the party so far, has attempted a presidential run twice before.
He ran for the Democratic nomination in 1988, vying to become the youngest president since John F. Kennedy. Although initially a strong candidate, Biden dropped out of the race after instances of plagiarism and untruths regarding his academic credentials came to light.
He withdrew from the 2008 presidential race after a poor performance at the Iowa caucuses.
While Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is portraying himself as the most far left candidate running, Biden characterizes his campaign as a “return to normalcy” with a more moderate Democrat approach.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
