The 2016 Democratic Party presidential debates will occur among candidates in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the President of the United States in the 2016 presidential election. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on May 5, 2015, that there would be six debates, in comparison to the 26 debates and forums that were part of the 2008 presidential campaign. On August 6, 2015, the DNC announced the locations for all six debates, with exact venues still to be determined, and the specific dates for the first four debates.
The first debate began on October 13, 2015 at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas at 8:30 p.m. and ended at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time. It aired on CNN and was broadcast on radio by Westwood One. Anderson Cooper was the moderator of the debate,[5] with Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez asking additional questions and Don Lemon presenting questions submitted by voters via Facebook.To be invited to the debate, a candidate had to achieve an average of at least 1% in three recognized national polls released between August 1 and October 10. In addition, a candidate had to either file a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission or declare that one would be filed by October 14, the day after the debate. The latter criterion would have accommodated Vice President Joe Biden had he decided to enter the presidential race as late as the day of the debate. CNN had an extra lectern available to install for Biden, but he took no action to enter the campaign before the debate. The aftermath of the debate, the CNN poll showed Sanders as the clear winner. However, the next day CNN said Clinton was the clear winner despite not showing any polls to back it up causing criticism of bias in favor of Clinton.
The second debate is scheduled for November 14, 2015, at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It will air on CBS News and will also be broadcast by KCCI and The Des Moines Register. The moderators are Cynthia Fodor of KCCI, with participation by Alyx Sacks of KCCI. The third debate—the final one in 2015—is scheduled for December 19, 2015, in Manchester, New Hampshire. It will air on ABC News and will also be broadcast by WMUR-TV. The fourth debate—the first debate of 2016—is scheduled for January 17, 2016, in Charleston, South Carolina, and will air on NBC News. It will also be broadcast by the Congressional Black Caucus. The fifth debate is scheduled to be held in February or March 2016, in Miami, Florida, and will air on Univision. It will also be broadcast by The Washington Post. The sixth and final debate is scheduled to be held in February or March 2016 in Wisconsin and will air on PBS.
