Lead up to Eleventh Presidential Primary Debate

CNN
March 12, 2020
By CNN Staff

CNN: Democratic debate moved from Arizona to Washington, DC, over coronavirus concerns, DNC announces

The Democratic debate scheduled for Sunday will be moved from Arizona to Washington, DC, the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday.
 
"Out of an abundance of caution and in order to reduce cross-country travel, all parties have decided that the best path forward is to hold Sunday's debate at CNN's studio in Washington, D.C., with no live audience," DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement.
 
Additionally, Univision's Jorge Ramos was possibly exposed to coronavirus. While he is not exhibiting any symptoms, he has has stepped down from his role as one of the moderators for the debate, the DNC said. The network's Ilia Calderón will take his place, alongside CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. The debate is still set to take place 8 to 10 p.m. ET Sunday.
 
"Both Mr. Ramos and the person he was in contact with are in good health and symptom free," Hinojosa said. "Despite being cleared by medical professionals and out of an abundance of caution, Jorge has decided to step aside from participating in the upcoming March 15 Democratic debate."
 
"Our number one priority has and will continue to be the safety of our staff, campaigns, and all those involved in the debate."
 
The news comes as the coronavirus pandemic grows and disrupts major events across the US.
 
The debate partners had previously announced that there would be no live audience, press filing center or spin room at the event.
 
The debate will air exclusively live on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International, and Univision at 8 p.m. ET. The debate will stream live in its entirety, without requiring log-in to a cable provider, on CNN.com's homepage, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV, as well as Univision's digital properties. The full debate will be available exclusively the day following the airing on demand via cable/satellite systems, on CNNgo (at CNN.com/goon your desktop, smartphone, and tablets, and via CNNgo OTT apps), and CNN mobile apps on iOS and Android.

CNN
March 10, 2020

UPDATE FOR CNN AND UNIVISION’S DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN ARIZONA

CNN’s top priority is the safety of our employees and community members. This extends to guests planning to attend or cover our debate on March 15th. At the request of the campaigns and out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to eliminate the debate live audience, the press filing center and spin room in Phoenix. We encourage you to tune in to the debate at 8pmET.

Democratic National Committee
March 6, 2020

DNC Announces Qualification Criteria For Arizona Democratic Presidential Primary Debate

The DNC today released the qualification criteria for participation in the eleventh Democratic presidential primary debate, which will be hosted by CNN and Univision on March 15. The debate will be held in partnership with CHC BOLD.

To qualify for the Arizona debate stage, candidates must meet a delegate threshold based on the total number of pledged delegates allocated prior to the March 15 debate.

The official threshold rules are below:

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR THE 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DEBATE IN ARIZONA

To qualify for the March 15, 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate in Arizona (“Arizona Debate”), candidates must meet the “Delegate Threshold” as detailed below.

Delegate Threshold

To meet the Delegate Threshold for the Arizona Debate, candidates must have been allocated at least 20% of the total number of pledged delegates allocated across all of the contests listed below (“Total Delegate Allocation”) by 9 A.M. Eastern Time on March 15, 2020, as calculated and reported by the Associated Press or CNN:

Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Democrats Abroad, Guam, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.

Additional Rules

  • The Total Delegate Allocation will be calculated by adding together all delegates allocated by the Associated Press or CNN to candidates who are actively campaigning for the nomination, those who have suspended or otherwise discontinued their campaigns, and those allocated as “uncommitted.”
  • In the event that the Associated Press or CNN have not allocated a portion of the delegates available in any of the above contests due to the ongoing tabulation of votes, such unallocated delegates will not be counted in the Total Delegate Allocation.
  • The number of delegates needed to qualify for the March Debate will be calculated by multiplying the Total Delegate Allocation by 0.20 and rounding the result to the nearest whole number.                                            
  • Each candidate’s delegate percentage will be calculated by dividing the number of pledged delegates allocated to them by the Associated Press or CNN by the Total Delegate Allocation and rounding the result to the nearest whole number.
CNN
March 5, 2020
By CNN staff

CNN and Univision announce moderators for Arizona debate

(CNN) CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, along with Univision's Jorge Ramos, will serve as moderators at the next Democratic presidential debate in Arizona, the two networks announced on Thursday. Univision's Ilia Calderón also will facilitate audience questions at the event.

 

The 11th Democratic presidential debate will take place in Phoenix on March 15, just days before Democratic voters in the southwestern state head to the polls. Voters in Florida, Illinois and Ohio will also vote that day.

 

The Democratic National Committee, in partnership with CHC Bold, the political action committee associated with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, announced that the debate will be held at the Arizona Federal Theatre, the downtown venue long known as Comerica Theatre. It will air from 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET.

 

"Arizona is a battleground state and it's clear Democrats can win here at every level of the ballot," DNC Chairman Tom Perez said last month. "After historic Democratic victories in 2018, we're putting the Republicans on defense in the Grand Canyon State. This debate will showcase our Democratic presidential candidates, highlight Trump's record of broken promises and make it clear that Democrats are fighting to give Arizonans a better future."

 

The debate will air live exclusively on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International and Univision. It will stream live in its entirety, without requiring logging in to a cable provider, on CNN.com's homepage, across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV, as well as Univision's digital properties. The audio of the debate will also stream on CNN's channels on Amazon Echo, SiriusXM and Westwood One Radio Network.

 

The announcement comes as the Democratic primary field has dramatically shrunk following the South Carolina and Super Tuesday primaries. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and businessman Tom Steyer each ended their respective presidential campaigns in recent days. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard are the only candidates remaining in the race.

 

Additional details including criteria to qualify for the debate will be released in the coming days, the networks announced. While Gabbard qualified for some of the DNC debates in 2019, she has not yet met the debate thresholds this year.

 

The DNC scheduled 12 debates for the party's 2020 presidential contest. So far, 10 have taken place.

Democratic National Committee
February 14, 2020

DNC & CHC BOLD Announce 11th Democratic Presidential Primary Debate will be Hosted by CNN & Univision

The 11th Democratic debate will take place in Phoenix on March 15
 
The DNC, in partnership with CHC BOLD, announced today that the eleventh Democratic debate will take place in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, March 15, and will be co-hosted by CNN and Univision. Venue, format, moderators and qualification criteria will be announced at a future date.
 
The debate will air live on CNN and Univision. The debate will also be live streamed across CNN and Univision’s digital and social platforms. Our broadcast partners are fully committed to providing accessible communications for deaf and disabled audiences as well.
 
CHC BOLD is the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and is dedicated to increasing the diversity of our leadership in the House and Senate.
 
“I personally want to thank Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Members of Congress Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for their assistance throughout the selection process,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “Arizonans can’t ask for better local and national advocates.
 
"Arizona is a battleground state and it's clear Democrats can win here at every level of the ballot. After historic Democratic victories in 2018, we're putting the Republicans on defense in the Grand Canyon State. This debate will showcase our Democratic presidential candidates, highlight Trump's record of broken promises and make it clear that Democrats are fighting to give Arizonans a better future.”