A New Unsanctioned Democratic Debate Was Just Announced, But Will The Candidates Participate?

Unlike the Republican Party, whose presidential candidates have already participated in six official debates, the Democratic Party officially sanctioned six debates total for the entire 2016 election. Four additional “forums” were added to the mix to appease complaints from former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, but Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has stuck to the six-debate schedule. In fact, the DNC instituted a rule barring any candidate from participating in future debates if they took part in one unsanctioned by the party.

So, the fact that MSNBC and the New Hampshire Union Leader announced what BuzzFeed called “an unsanctioned Democratic debate” on Thursday, Feb. 4 has many people wondering — will Sanders, O’Malley, or front-runner Hillary Clinton participate?

As Talking Points Memo pointed out soon after the news broke, O’Malley confirmed his participation in a statement released to the press after MSNBC and the Union Leader‘s joint announcement. “We have always believed that the voters of the Granite State deserve more than one opportunity to see their candidates for President debate side by side,” said O’Malley for New Hampshire State Director John Bivona.

https://twitter.com/EvanMcSan/status/692084742636736513

However, neither the Clinton nor the Sanders campaigns have responded to the announcement, and considering their current standings with the party and in the polls, it’s doubtful they will participate. Especially after Wasserman Schultz issued a statement via the DNC on the party’s official website:

“Our next DNC-sanctioned debate featuring our major candidates will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin hosted by PBS on February 11th, with another already scheduled for March 9th with Univision and the Washington Post… We have no plans to sanction any further debates before the upcoming First in the Nation caucuses and primary, but will reconvene with our campaigns after those two contests to review our schedule. Our three major candidates are already scheduled to appear on the same stage next week for the New Hampshire Democratic Party dinner on February 5th.”

In other words, it sounds like Wasserman Schultz and the DNC won’t budge from their stance on limited debates despite MSNBC and the Union Leader‘s surprise announcement.

Rachel Maddow, who is supposed to host the unsanctioned debate with NBC’s Chuck Todd, announced on Twitter that she would discuss the news on The Rachel Maddow Show at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC.

-UPDATE 9:20pm: A Hillary Clinton spokesperson told The Hill she’d be down to participate, but only “if the other candidates agree.” However, Bernie Sanders announced that he won’t participate in this unsanctioned debate, for such a move would jeopardize his ability to partake in future debates.

We’ll update this post as more news becomes available.

(Via BuzzFeed and Talking Points Memo)