It’s Saturday, and you know what that means – the Democrats are debating.
With some last-minute drama in the ranks, Saturday’s debate could drum up more viewers than the previous Saturday debates have been able to.
On Friday, it was revealed that campaign workers for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), improperly accessed voter data compiled by Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The Sander’s campaign fired those responsible and was barred by the Democratic National Committee from accessing the party’s voter file, which includes Sanders’ campaign’s voter data.
Sanders then filed a lawsuit in federal court against the DNC, claiming that the campaign is losing $600,000 in donations each day that it does not have access to the data. The suit says the “damage to the campaign’s political viability as a result of being unable to communicate with constituents and voters, is far more severe, and incapable of measurement.”
If you’ve finished up that Christmas shopping and are settling into some Saturday night politics, here’s a guide to the Democratic debate.
When: Saturday, Dec. 19.
Where: St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
What time: Pre-debate coverage starts at 6 p.m. (ET) and continues until 8 p.m. The debate starts at 8:30 p.m. and continues until 10:30 p.m. Post-debate coverage continues from 11 p.m. until midnight
Hosted by: ABC and the New Hampshire Union Leader
Airs on: ABC. To find your local ABC channel enter your zip code on these sites: (Dish TV); (DirecTV); (AT&T U-verse)
Live stream: The debate will be streamed live here.
Moderators: ABC's "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir, chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz, and WMUR-TV anchor Josh McElveen will moderate the debate.
Who's in: Here are the candidates participating, their poll numbers from the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll and their websites:
• Hillary Clinton: 59 percent
• Bernie Sanders: 28 percent
• Martin O'Malley: 5 percent
Likely issues
While we don't know for sure, the likely issues to be raised in the debate include:
1. The data breach
2. Foreign policy
3. National security
4. Favoritism for Clinton by the Democratic National Committee
5. Health of the national economy
When's the next one
The next Republican debate will be held Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2016 at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center, North Charleston, South Carolina. It will be hosted by Fox News. The next Democratic debate will also be in Charleston a few days later on Jan. 17. It will be hosted by NBC and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute.
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