There will be 12 — yes, 12 — Democratic presidential debates for the 2020 election cycle
If you're already feeling completely exhausted about the 2020 presidential election, we've got some bad news.
The Democratic National Committee on Thursday unveiled details about its 2020 presidential primary debate schedule: The organization is going to hold a total of 12 debates, with six coming in 2019 and six more in 2020, reports CNN.
The first will be in June 2019, meaning the DNC is getting started two months earlier than the RNC did in 2015. More debates will follow in July, September, October, November, and December. Then, you'll get what will presumably be a much-needed four month reprieve before the debating resumes in April 2020. For comparison, as Bloomberg's Jennifer Epstein points out, Democrats only scheduled four debates in 2016, though they added five more later.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Democrats are likely going to face a similar problem that Republicans did in 2016: far too many candidates to squeeze into one debate, at least early on. Republicans handled that by splitting some of their debates into two, with the low polling-candidates going first and the high-polling candidates making it into what was widely seen as the "real" event directly after. Democrats say they'll also split their early debates into two if need be, although in their case, the candidate placement would be randomly decided, according to DNC Chairman Tom Perez. The criteria to qualify for the debates hasn't been revealed, but the DNC says it won't just be polling and will take into account other factors like fundraising.
If the debates are split up, they'll also likely take place on two separate nights, meaning there would, in practice, actually be even more than 12 debates. Prepare yourself, because it's all just six months away.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Political cartoons for December 6Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a pardon for Hernandez, word of the year, and more
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
