As was previously reported, the campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been squabbling over the question of adding more debates to the fairly thin Democratic debate schedule. As of now, a tentative deal has been reached with both candidates agreeing to a debate this week prior to the New Hampshire primary, and then adding several additional events.
Report from the Boston Globe:
Democrats would hold a presidential debate next week in New Hampshire before the state’s first-in-the-nation primary and three more in the spring, under a tentative deal Saturday between the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns.
Both camps said the agreement was not final and that Democratic National Committee had yet to sign off. The DNC did not immediately comment on the development, first reported by BuzzFeed.
The Thursday debate would fit in between Monday’s Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9.
In recent days, Clinton has urged the party to add the forums, and Sanders has been willing to appear at the proposed debate next week in exchange for three more in the spring.
Already scheduled are debates in Wisconsin on Feb. 11 and Florida on March 9.
Campaign officials said the new spring debates would be in late March, April, and May.
Clinton and Sanders are in a tight race before the Iowa caucuses, and Clinton trails the Vermont senator in New Hampshire, raising the possibility that the Democratic front-runner could lose the first two contests. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley has trailed them by wide margins.
The proposed date for this week is on Thursday, February 4. However, it still appears the campaigns are working out the date and other details though they have both agreed to participate in a debate this week before the New Hampshire primary. Hopefully this gets worked out soon since the clock is ticking down.
