Viewers can expect one main change in the overall lineup of the second round of Democratic debates on July 30 and 31 — since California Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race July 8, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will replace him.
Here’s what else to expect from the debates, which are being hosted by CNN in Detroit on July 30 and 31. Moderators include Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper.
Twenty candidates will participate, but CNN will split them into two groups to debate on two separate nights during a televised drawing at 8 p.m. Thursday. The drawing is not totally random. CNN divided the candidate pool into three tiers of 10, six and four and will split each tier evenly between the two debate nights, reported Reid Epstein of The New York Times. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders’s Speechwriter Shares Study Attacking Bidencare By Comparing Its Estimated ‘Death Toll’ To 9/11 Deaths)
Podium placement — who gets to be in the middle and who is relegated to the edges of the stage — will be based on public polling and announced later, according to CNN.
Democratic presidential candidates (L-R) former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Michael Bennet take part in the second night of the first Democratic presidential debate on June 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
CNN included the following candidates in its first tier:
- Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet
- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock
- New York Mayor Bill de Blasio
- Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney
- Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
- New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
- Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
- Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
- Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan
- Author Marianne Williamson
The second tier includes:
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
- South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro
- Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
- Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
The third tier, or “final draw,” includes:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- California Sen. Kamala Harris
- Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
In order to qualify, the candidates had to poll at 1 percent or more in at least three qualified polls or receive donations from at least 65,000 individual donors, with a minimum number of 200 individual donors each in at least 20 states.
The first round of Democratic debates in Miami in June included many standout moments, including Harris’s emotional telling of her experience with school busing aimed at Biden’s civil rights record.
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