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December 2019 Democratic debate

Seven candidates have qualified to take the stage in Los Angeles.

Contributors: Vox Staff

The sixth Democratic debate of the 2020 presidential election is scheduled to take place this Thursday, December 19, at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The seven qualified Democratic candidates had threatened to skip the debate in solidarity with LMU campus workers in a labor dispute, but LMU staff has since secured a tentative contract agreement with the school’s food service provider, and the debate is officially on. The debate will stream live on the websites of PBS and Politico.

The seven candidates who qualified for the December debate are: former Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Amy Klobuchar; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and entrepreneurs Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang. Sen. Kamala Harris also reportedly qualified for the debate, but withdrew from the presidential race earlier this month.

To qualify for this debate, the Democratic National Committee requires that candidates receive at least 4 percent in four DNC-approved polls, and have at least 200,000 individual campaign donors. But this past weekend, nine Democratic presidential candidates — including the seven qualifying ones — sent a letter to the DNC urging the party to relax these requirements, in order to foster greater diversity on the debate stage. (Of the seven qualified candidates, Andrew Yang is the only person of color.)

Follow below for Vox’s full coverage of the debate, including how to watch, breaking news updates, analysis, and more.

16 Total Updates Since
Dec 13, 2019, 4:20pm EST
  • December 20, 2019

    Democrats’ 2020 economy dilemma, explained

    By Matthew Yglesias

    Things are pretty good! Maybe it’s okay to admit it.

  • December 20, 2019

    Joe Biden’s stutter and Sarah Sanders’s terrible response to it, briefly explained

    By Aaron Rupar

    Biden’s poignant shoutout to a child who, like him, stutters, revealed one of his secret strengths.

  • December 20, 2019

    Andrew Yang has a good answer for one of the toughest climate change questions

    By Umair Irfan

    Climate change is already forcing people to move. Yang has a plan for getting them out of harm’s way.

  • December 19, 2019

    Sanders and Biden missed a major opportunity on a debate question on gender

    By Li Zhou

    Meanwhile, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren called out the gender gap in politics.

  • December 19, 2019

    3 winners and 4 losers from the December Democratic debate

    By Dylan Matthews, Zack Beauchamp, Ella Nilsen, Andrew Prokop, German Lopez, and Anna North

    Winners: Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar. Loser: Pete Buttigieg.

  • December 19, 2019

    Amy Klobuchar deserves a closer look from electability-minded Democrats

    By Matthew Yglesias

    A candidate with a history of winning — big — in the Midwest.

  • December 19, 2019

    The Warren-Buttigieg wine cave controversy, explained

    By Ella Nilsen

    The wine cave controversy is really about political access, and who gets to have it.

  • December 19, 2019

    Pete Buttigieg wants reparations and citizenship for separated immigrant families

    By Nicole Narea

    He wants to make amends for Trump’s family separations policy.

  • December 19, 2019

    Miss America or Democratic debate: Can you tell the difference?

    By Emily Stewart

    The Democratic debate and Miss America pageant were on the same night. And they weren’t as different as you’d think.

  • December 19, 2019

    Andrew Yang nailed his answer on being the only nonwhite candidate on stage

    By Dylan Scott

    He turned the question into a forceful argument for a universal basic income.

  • December 19, 2019

    What to expect at the sixth Democratic debate

    By Li Zhou

    It’s the smallest debate stage yet.

  • December 19, 2019

    PBS and Politico journalists are tag-teaming December’s Democratic debate

    By Li Zhou

    Meet the moderators of the sixth Democratic debate.

  • December 17, 2019

    Everything you need to know about the next Democratic debate

    By Nicole Narea

    December marks the sixth debate of the race.

  • December 17, 2019

    The Democratic debate is on after candidates threatened to boycott over labor dispute

    By Emily Stewart

    Democrats stepped in on the side of labor ahead of the debate — and helped workers win.

  • December 15, 2019

    Top Democratic candidates ask the DNC to allow more candidates to participate in debates

    By Riley Beggin

    Sen. Cory Booker and other 2020 candidates have asked that the rules be relaxed to foster greater diversity on the party’s final primary debate stages.

  • December 13, 2019

    2020 Democrats may skip the next presidential debate over a labor dispute

    By Zeeshan Aleem

    All seven candidates who qualified for the debate said they wouldn’t cross a picket line.