Clinton says she's open to attending an unsanctioned Democratic debate, Sanders says he isn't

(Image credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

published 27 January 2016

Unless the Democratic National Committee sanctions MSNBC and The New Hampshire Union Leader's impromptu debate Feb. 9, it could just be a face off between Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley. While both have said they'd be open to participating in a debate in New Hampshire ahead of the state's primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders says that he would not attend an event that wasn't sanctioned by the DNC, for fear that it could bar him from participating in sanctioned debates in the future.

Clinton, however, thinks that if all three Democratic candidates opt in, the DNC might be forced to sanction the debate. A spokeswoman for Clinton told The New Hampshire Union Leader that she would be "happy to participate in a debate in New Hampshire if the other candidates agree, which would allow the DNC to sanction the debate."

MSNBC and The New Hampshire Union Leader's proposal follows ongoing complaints about the undesirable dates chosen for the Democratic debates and the sparse number of events scheduled. DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has already said it's unlikely they will sanction additional debates ahead of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, but that they will "reconvene with our campaigns after those two contests to review our schedule."