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Here's What You Need to Know About the 2020 Democratic Primary Debates

Photo credit: Alex Wong - Getty Images
Photo credit: Alex Wong - Getty Images

From ELLE

The 2020 presidential race is in full swing, but after an onslaught of crowded debates, the candidate pool has winnowed down to two strong contenders: Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden. The two Democratic primary candidates are vying for the party's official spot as constituents continue to cast their votes. But with the current pandemic, it's unclear if we'll get to see these two on the debate stage again.

Ahead, here's everything you need to know about the state of the Democratic debates.

When is the next debate?

It's unclear. The Democratic National Committee originally called for 12 debates during the 2020 cycle, with the last one happening in April. However, most likely due to the coronavirus outbreak, no information has been released about the potential April debate, including the host or location.

Xochitl Hinojosa, a DNC spokesperson, declined to tell the New York Times whether the debate would still happen in April or be moved in accordance with several states that have postponed their presidential primary elections from April to June.

What would the debate look like?

If there is an April debate, it will probably mirror the March debate where Sanders and Biden appeared without a live audience and stood six feet apart, per CDC guidelines.

Do Sanders and Biden want to debate?

In late March, Sanders' campaign announced he had plans to participate in the April debate, signaling that he would not be dropping out of the race anytime soon. When asked whether he would participate, Biden said, " My focus is just dealing with this crisis right now. I haven’t thought about any more debates. I think we’ve had enough debates. I think we should get on with this."

ELLE.com will continue to update this post.

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